


Resolution and Coda

by EspadaIV, JKRobertson



Series: Consonance and Dissonance [4]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Attempted Sexual Assault, Dogs, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, GrimmIchi - Freeform, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Justice, Multi, Music Industry AU, Resolution, Revenge, Second Chances, Sexual Harrassment, Soulmates, The One - Freeform, Third Chances, Young Love, but not really, grimmichi/original character, lots of dogs, musician au, there is a spin-off, trigger warning: assault, ulquihime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:46:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 54,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24902551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EspadaIV/pseuds/EspadaIV, https://archiveofourown.org/users/JKRobertson/pseuds/JKRobertson
Summary: Part 4 of 4 of the Consonance and Dissonance Series.After Orihime and Ulquiorra's breakup, she signs with Soul Society Music Group and he becomes an annoyed homeowner with an uninvited house guest in Ichigo Kurosaki.  Orihime gets a successful start to her career, but is sidelined when a face from her past reappears and knocks her world upside-down. Will Obs and Veggs manage to make amends?  Will Aizen get his comeuppance?  All your unresolved questions are answered in this heart-pumping conclusion of the Consonance and Dissonance series!
Relationships: Ulquiorra Cifer/Inoue Orihime
Series: Consonance and Dissonance [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1573807
Comments: 21
Kudos: 4





	1. Meet the Press

Orihime slept a lot for the remainder of that month. She refused no jobs and did her best for them, but it was more out of force of habit than passion for singing.

She was asked to do a photo shoot for a young women’s magazine, doing an article to showcase women and girls fighting against slut-shaming. She readily agreed. If there was one thing that she was proud of in all of this, it was that she had had the guts to chase down what she believed was right, even if it was at her own expense. 

She gave an interview with the magazine about the use of her image being exploited and her character being smeared for other people’s purposes. When asked about her relationship with Ulquiorra, she declined to answer.

She didn’t record anything for her YouTube channel during this time. She associated her social media accounts so strongly with Ulquiorra that she could not bring herself to use them.

She did a couple of small live shows, but gave them up after being heckled at both and asked to do the second one in her underwear by several members of the audience. She left that show early and spent the evening considering what else she could do with her life. All the joy and hope of living in California had been drained away, tainted by everything that had happened.

When she found herself unable to come up with any acceptable alternative career paths for a college drop-out with very public scandals trailing her around, she turned to Kisuke for advice. 

“I really think you should take the deal, Orihime. You’ll have handlers and staff who can provide a buffer between you, the media, and the public,” he argued. By the end of their discussion, Orihime had made up her mind. She went into the Soul Society Music Group’s office the next morning and signed on the dotted line.

***

He was still hounded by the media for the whole Nemu thing. His mother was still being a bitch about getting shot. Ulquiorra couldn’t blame her. He was glad that it hadn’t been a fatal wound.

It took a month to close on the house. Ulquiorra stayed in a hotel for that time. He was grateful that his dad co-signed for him, although he paid most of the price up front.

Ulquiorra hated himself. He hated what he said to Orihime. He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was for being a dickhead. She probably hated him too.

Nanao was right; he really did treat her like trash. 

So it was only right that he stood in his new place alone, the furniture and some of the decorations already in place thanks to his father negotiating a deal with the previous owners. Remodeling of the pool house was scheduled to start in a week to turn it into his personal recording studio. 

Espada Records had Obscuras IV do a music video for their first single from the album. He had complaints about the label's choice of song. “I don’t want to sing Colorblind.”

“Too damn bad. You’re under contract, so dance little monkey, dance.” His mother glared at him from across the conference table. “You think I’m going to be easy on you just because you’re my—“

“Ahem,” Gin said, interrupting the woman. “Would you rather do another song off the album? People liked OIV’s rendition of Bound for the Floor.”

“Anything besides the lovesick songs.”

Besides being lonely, the weather made him miserable. The thing Ulquiorra hated about California was that it got so fucking hot. While the coast where he lived got a breeze, he disliked the feeling of his clothes sticking to him when he was outside for long periods of time. 

It was one such day when he was cleaning the pool and his phone rang. “Hello?” he asked, answering the call.

“OLLIE!” an overly-enthusiastic voice greeted him.

“Hello, Kurosaki. What made you bother me today?”

“May I say it’s a pleasure speaking with you, too? I’m calling because I only have about a month before summer is over and school starts up again, and no tan to show for it. I’m gonna need to come hang out for awhile.”

“Why don’t you stay with Orihime? I’m sure she would like the company.” Ulquiorra put the pool skimmer he was using down and sat on a lounge chair. “I’m not in any state to entertain guests, Ivan.”

“Oh, come on, dude. I don’t care if you’re a fucking vampire that only comes out at night. I just want to hang out at your pool. You know, one that doesn’t have dudes in their fifties and cougars hanging around the edges.”

He sighed. “It’s not that. I moved into a much smaller place. I’m remodeling. Orihime and I broke up. I’m not in any state to entertain people but if you want to come out… I’m in Malibu now.”

“Perfect! I can go hang out on the beach if your place is too noisy.” The smile fell from his voice for a moment. “I’m sorry about you and Hime. That explains a lot. Anyway, I’m already booked on a flight for this coming Sunday. Want to pick me up from the airport or should I rent a car?”

Ulquiorra shook his head. Ivan did not know when to quit. “Noise? I live in the middle of nowhere, it seems like. I have no neighbors. This place is especially quiet.” He wanted to ask what the man meant by what explained a lot but he wasn’t a nosy person. “I can pick you up. Text me before you take off. I’ll try to have the guest room ready.”

“Awesome. See you in a couple days, bud.”

The next day, Ulquiorra heard the gate buzzer. He pressed a button to allow the car to enter the property. He was doing an interview for a magazine that was filled with teenage celebrities. He didn’t want to do it, but Koma said it would be good for his image.

He stood in the driveway and watched as the car rolled up.

A young woman with curly black hair dressed in linen slacks and a crisp white silk t-shirt got out and walked to the door. She smiled brightly and held a hand out to Ulquiorra. “Hi! You must be Ulquiorra Cifer, it’s a pleasure to meet you!” She was bubbly. Not simpering or cloying, but bubbly. “My name is Brynlee Coscia, and I’m here from Teen Vogue to do a simple little interview, as I’m sure you’ve been made aware.”

He had to refrain from rolling his eyes at the woman. She had what he considered a typical, stupid, Californian name. Briefly taking her hand, Ulquiorra nodded. “Hi. Um, we can hold this conversation by the pool or I can take you inside to the kitchen. That’s about the only place that’s decent enough right now.”

“Wherever you feel most at home is ideal,” she replied.

A snort of laughter escaped. He forced a smile before leading the woman through the front door and into the kitchen area of the house. “Do you want a cup of coffee or something? I’ve only done radio interviews and I’m not even sure why some publication would want to talk to me.”

The somewhat overweight woman smiled kindly. “I’ll pass on coffee, I’m off caffeine and I’ve brought a bottle of water, but thanks for the hospitality,” she said as she set her bag on his kitchen island and asked, “Do you mind if I set up here?” 

Ulquiorra nodded, and she started unpacking a notebook, tablet, and phone from her purse. “I usually take handwritten notes but I also do audio recording in case I get too engrossed and forget to write things down. Do you mind?”

Did he mind? It didn’t matter if he did or not. Things would probably be taken out of context anyway. “No, it’s fine. Please take a seat.” He pulled the other stool to the other side of the counter and sat down, with his coffee cup in front of him. 

“Thank you. I’m going to take a couple pictures of this room so I can describe it in the interview to set the scene.” She set up her phone to record and then used the tablet to snap a couple pictures, including Ulquiorra in one. As she did this, she said, “And, to answer your question, you are an attractive guy with a growing following, and your young female fanbase is driving a lot of that growth. Those girls want to know more about you as a person, not just what they’ve gleaned from tabloids and social media.”

“Hah,” he chuckled, looking out the window. Those people didn’t want to know about him. Why did they want to know about a guy who was an asshole? “Okay.”

“Alright, let’s jump right into it. Did you always know you wanted to be a musician?”

“I’ve always been musically inclined. My mother is a music exec. My father fostered my ability and dedication to music.”

“So would you say your dad has been your biggest cheerleader?”

“Both of my parents were supportive of my efforts,” Ulquiorra said. “I mean they are supportive. My dad moreso than my mother.”

“I see. What inspires you? Full disclosure, I’m a big, big fan, so I really want to know how and why you choose the songs you sing. Back in your YouTube days, you only did one specifically dedicated song. Do you have any other driving forces?”

His mouth twisted to the side. “Uh, not really. I mean… my friend Vega Strife was a huge… She was...” Ulquiorra couldn’t get the words to come out. He took a sip of coffee. “She was my inspiration for a lot of the songs I sang. She still is.”

The interviewer blushed slightly. Usually she had to work a lot harder to get to these kind of confessions. She didn’t want to make him uncomfortable and end the interview early though, so she didn’t press. “I see. It is pretty well established that you were dating her at one or two points in time. Are you dating anyone right now? These are the kinds of things our readers really want to know, you know,” she said with a quasi-apologetic smile.

“No.” It was said in a flat monotone voice.

She nodded and asked her next question. “Would you ever date a fan?”

That question was absurd. Vega had been a fan. He had dated her. He had given his heart to her. He lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. “I’m not really sure. I--” Ulquiorra paused again. He didn’t know how to phrase this. “It really depends.”

“I see. What gets your attention about a woman?”

“Again, not really sure. I have no clue.”

“Do you have any turn-ons?”

He sighed, becoming irritated with this line of questioning. “Should teenagers be concerned with what turns me on?”

“Whether or not they should be, they are,” she answered calmly. “If you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to.”

“It’s not that. I just--” Ulquiorra scowled. “I don’t know. I used to know, but things changed.”

Ms. Coscia nodded thoughtfully, as if what he said made any sense. “Right. Okay. Would you consider yourself a playboy?”

His head whipped back and forth in denial. “No. I consider myself demiromantic. The pictures that were taken of me with… with my former stylist were lapses of common sense. They were errors in judgement I made.”

“I see, yes. You haven’t been in the public eye for long, yet you’ve been romantically linked and photographed in intimate situations with several women, and you seem to have juggled more than one of them at the same time since the beginning. How would you describe your approach to dating and romance, especially in light of your demiromantic considerations?”

“I don’t have one. For a long time I thought I was asexual, but things changed. I didn’t mean to be in a relationship, because I never thought I would meet Vega in real life,” he said, hiding his face behind the coffee cup. Ulquiorra could feel his cheeks getting hot. He remembered when Orihime said that she fell in love with him. Screw it, she probably wasn’t going to see this anyway. “It wasn’t planned; we both said we’d take it slow, but we fell into it. I don’t think we meant to fall in love with each other. It just happened. The sad thing is, I don’t think it’ll happen again.”

“What won’t happen again?“

He shook his head, declining to answer. “Next,” Ulquiorra said.

“Okay, I guess you’ve already answered my next question, let’s see here… Oh yes. Have you ever considered marriage?”

“What was the question?”

“The previous question? Have you ever been in love before.”

Oh. Ulquiorra frowned. These questions were very nosy. “Before I met Vega? No, I never thought I would find love. I never considered marriage. After I met her? I fell hard and I fell fast. Sometimes it would cross my mind, like I wanted to ask her. I never did though. But now that I’m single, I’ll probably be single for the foreseeable future.” He mentally added,  _ until Vega came back to him _ .

“I see. So, any relationship or dating advice, warnings, or suggestions for our readers?”

“I guess believe in the person you’re with. Don’t listen to anyone else about your relationship.”

“Are you suggesting that Vega listened to other people and didn’t believe you?”

Once again his head shook but this time slowly. “That was me,” he replied.

“I see. So, what’s next for you, personally and as Obscuras four?”

“I have no clue really what is in store for OIV. I know I’m going to be dealing with this remodeling for a bit and then I’ll be back to making more music.”

***

Orihime was at a meeting with Hanataro and Yoruichi about her album the following Wednesday. She had been distracted by her phone blowing up. Apparently Ichigo was in town, and he was bored. Bored enough to harass her and ask her to come hang out on the beach. She had tentatively agreed to do it that afternoon, and it was now two o’clock. Her meeting was still going on, though.

It didn’t make sense. Why would he keep sending her messages? She had told him she would call him as soon as she was done. Finally she couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m sorry, would you excuse me for a moment? Some bonehead won’t stop until I call him back.”

The other two occupants of the room nodded and Orihime let herself out. She looked at her phone and her eyes widened in surprise. The messages weren’t from Ichigo. They were from Rukia. Worried, Orihime called her without reading the messages.

“Orihime! Did you get my messages?”

“Yes, but I’ve been in a meeting about the album; you know that. What’s so important that it couldn’t wait?” 

“CHECK THE MESSAGES. Ulquiorra did an interview for Teen Vogue and they decided to run it online before everyone forgets about what happened with you two, because it’s pretty much all about you two. You’re going to want to read it before you talk to anyone else. If you need somebody to talk to, I’m available, okay?”

“Okay…” Orihime replied, not sure why Rukia would care. There wasn’t anything that Ulquiorra could say that would be news to her, she thought. She opened the messages. It took awhile to get through all the “CALL ME” messages until she got to the one with the link in it. When she did, she tapped on it and the article appeared. 

The first thing she saw was an interior shot of a kitchen, with Ulquiorra sitting at a counter. It looked like a nice place. Her thumb dragged the webpage viewer down so she could begin to read. There was not much new. She was surprised that he was still talking about her. She was surprised that he said she still inspired him.

She was not surprised when he insinuated that he would not fall in love with her again. Their last meeting had kind of made that perfectly clear. He had asked her to be friends.  _ Friends.  _ It was an absurd request. If he wanted a friend, she was not the one. Friends weren’t in love with each other. Despite his declaration that he wasn’t and never would again, she still was in love with him. She didn’t foresee an end to it, either.

She took a deep breath. She needed to calm down. She had a meeting to get back to and she hadn't even finished reading the article. She scrolled down further, and then she saw something that made her heart stop.

_ “Before I met Vega? No, I never thought I would find love. I never considered marriage. After I met her? I fell hard and I fell fast. Sometimes it would cross my mind, like I wanted to ask her. I never did though. But now that I’m single, I’ll probably be single for the foreseeable future.” _

What?

She had to blink several times, squeezing her eyes shut, before she tried reading it again.

To her great surprise, the words still read, “ _ I wanted to ask her”. _

He had wanted to marry her? When? What? It made no sense. Why would he say that?

She tried to stay calm but she found her breath coming more and more rapidly with each step she took back to the conference room. She went in visibly upset. “I’m sorry guys,” she said as the first of many tears slipped past her lashes. “Can we quit for today?”

Yoruichi stood up and crossed the room toward her, and without question nodded. “Of course. We can pick this up on Friday, we have another meeting scheduled then anyway. Are you alright, Orihime? Do you need to go talk in my office?”

“No, I just need to get out of here,” she whimpered and ran for the exit. 

When she got to her car, she started to sob. She texted Rukia and thanked her for filling her in, but that she didn’t want to talk today. That was not exactly true. She wanted to talk - she  _ needed _ to talk - but not with someone who had never really liked Ulquiorra. She needed to talk to someone who cared about both of them. She dialed another number.

“Hey, Vegabond, you ready to hit the beach?”

She answered with a choked noise, then cried, “Can I meet you and we can go talk?”

Ichigo’s face fell flat. “What happened, Orihime? Are you alright?”

There was no answer except for blubbering.

“Yeah, hey, calm down. I can meet you. Whatever you need. I’m at the house, but I’ll walk down to the main road.”

“Yes, please. I’m about an hour away, so I’ll call when I’m closer. Can you send me an approximate address?”

“Yeah, I’ll have it ready when you get close. Calm down, alright? You shouldn’t be driving in your condition, okay? I’ll see you soon.” Ichigo ended the call and turned to go to one of the guest rooms; if they weren’t going to the beach, he was going to need a shirt.

Ulquiorra scowled at his houseguest as he walked into the room. “Who was that? You just can’t give my address out to anyone, Ivan.”

“I’m not giving it out. I’ll walk down to the main road and meet her there. There’s a gas station; she can have that address,” he answered, avoiding the question of who.

She? She who? He had an idea, but didn’t want to ask. Ulquiorra continued to glare at the other male. Surprisingly, Ichigo was easy to live with. He was easy going and respected Ulquiorra’s rules. He wasn’t like the asshole at OSU. “I can go down to the studio for a bit, if you need privacy or something.”

Ichigo’s face wrinkled up. “No, it’s not like that,” he said, half distracted and patting at his pockets and looking for his wallet, which he typically left sitting out on the kitchen counter. “It’s Orihime, alright? I asked her to come hang out with me on the beach. Um, I wanted to catch up.”

A loud sigh left Ulquiorra. “What condition is she in? What’s wrong with her? Is she okay?” For a brief moment fear went through Ulquiorra. What if--No. She would have told him if anything like that was going on… Unless… “You guys can be here. Like I said, I can go to the studio or um, go to the store or something.”

Ichigo looked at the other man and studied his face for a moment. Why was he pushing for them to hang out here? “I could ask her, but I don’t think she would be comfortable. She, uh, probably doesn’t want to worry about pissing you off. She’s kind of delicate right now.”

“Delicate? What kind of condition?” Ulquiorra managed to ask through gritted teeth. The last thing he needed was a surprise popping up out of nowhere. “Honestly, she’s not going to piss me off. Just invite her here. There is nothing here that screams that this is my house. I’ll go down to the studio and you can text me when you’re done.”

He really wasn’t going to let this go. “Okay, I’ll call her,” he said, with a heavy suggestion that he didn’t think she’d agree.

“Hey, Orihime? Yeah, it’s me. Um, Ulquiorra said we can use his house and he’ll go somewhere..” There was a long pause here. “No, no, it’s alright. It’s to be expected that you’re overly emotional.” Another pause. “Ha ha, no, no one will judge you. You can have as much ice cream as you want. You like toppings? Salty? What, like pickles? You are a little weirdo. Okay, call me when you get closer. Bye.” 

He ended the call. “She doesn’t want to get in your hair.”

Ulquiorra scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Fine,” he stated before leaving the room and going back to his bedroom.

About forty minutes later, Ichigo went and knocked on Ulquiorra’s bedroom door. “I’m off. I’ll be back later. Do you, uh, want me to tell her anything?”

He opened the door and looked at the orange-haired guy. “No, I don’t want to play telephone. If I had something to say to her, I’d text or call her, but thank you.”

“Okay.” Ichigo said with a half smile before turning on his heel and making his way to the door. He walked down the hillside and met Orihime at the gas station. He offered that they go to the beach anyway and just take a walk as they talked, and she agreed after some consideration. It didn’t take long to get there. They left their shoes in the car, and when they were walking along the waterline, Ichigo asked, “So, what’s the problem?”

Orihime took a deep breath. “Ulquiorra told an interviewer that he had wanted to marry me.”

Ichigo’s eyebrows shot up, but said nothing at first.

Orihime had waited for a reaction, and when none came, she added, “And it made me sad because now we’re not together anymore.”

“Oh. Well,” he really didn't know what to say about it. “I’m sorry that you’re sad. What interview? He told me he gave an interview on Friday for some teeny mag. It can’t be the same one; that wasn’t supposed to come out until September.”

“It was Teen Vogue,” she replied, her brows furrowing. If he gave the interview on Friday, that means this was a recent thing.

“Oh, yeah, that was the one.”

Orihime stopped walking. This was too much. It wasn’t that she wanted to get married or anything, although if she did she would have… It didn’t matter, he was out of her life now - by choice - anyway. She felt the sting of loss prick her sinuses again and felt a strong desire to crawl into bed and fall asleep for a week. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked out over the water. “How did everything get so fucked up, Ichigo?” she asked in a breathy voice.

The orange-haired man shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s something only the two of you know.”

She stood there looking out at the horizon and cried. Not big, ugly, snotty, crying, but the quiet, wet-eyed, pink-cheeked, surrendered kind of cry. After several minutes, she looked at her companion. “I don’t know either. All I know is that I love him, and it is killing me every day. All I want to do is crawl into a hole and never come out. All the things I liked to do have no meaning anymore. I’m supposed to be recording an album soon, and I just don’t care,” she wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand. “He told me that the next time I want to kill myself, I should do it in a hotel room. Maybe I should.”

“Orihime! I don’t ever want to hear you say that again!” Ichigo shouted suddenly, startling the woman. “I don’t care what he said. That guy is an idiot. He is still completely hung up on you. He thinks he’s so discreet, but it’s obvious. He looks at pictures of you guys all the time. He sits around on his ass sighing and staring out the window. I talked to you on the phone for two minutes and he pops up out of the woodwork, asking who I’m talking to and then pushing for you to come over to his place! He loves you, too, Orihime.”

“If that is the case then why does he always push me away and leave?! Why doesn’t he ever believe in me? You were there with the thing with Aizen. You saw how he just left me to the wolves. He always does that!” she shouted, glad that their stretch of beach was empty at the moment. “Why would he tell me to off myself in a hotel room if he loved me, Ivan?”

Ichigo pursed his lips and crossed his arms. He hadn’t signed up for this. “Listen to me, Orihime. You’re like a sister to me. I care about you a lot. Hell, sometimes I think you get me better than Hailey and Grimmjow combined. But I can’t fix this for you. You’re going to have to talk to him, or get over it.”

She looked back out over the water. “I can’t. Not right now.”

Ichigo sighed. “Alright. Do you want to get ice cream or something?”

“No. I just want to sleep.”

“Fine. Can you give me a ride back up the hill? I don’t want to walk up there.”

Orihime nodded and started walking back toward her car.

When the car pulled up to the open gate, Ulquiorra was standing in the driveway with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He had been beating himself up over this whole thing. He raised a hand in greeting to her but knew it was probably stupid to do, so and he let it drop. He kept his eyes on her until the car pulled away.

Ichigo walked up to him shaking his head. “Dude,” he said, turning the shorter man around and putting an arm over his shoulder, effectively walking him back into the house. “That is all kinds of fucked up.”

“Meaning?” Ulquiorra asked, flicking at Ichigo’s arm.

“Where to start? Um, she read the interview. Apparently it came out today.”

“WHAT?”

“Yeah, we were surprised too.”

Ulquiorra chewed his lip as they entered the hallway. “I take it she didn’t have anything good to say about it.”

“She was just really sad. I think she’s depressed. She said she was really sad that you said you wanted to marry her and now you’re not together anymore. Then she talked about you telling her to get a hotel room to kill herself in. I think she thinks you want her dead?” Ichigo made a face like he didn’t really believe what he was saying.

“No, I don’t want her dead. She never understands what I’m trying to say. Orihime misinterprets a lot of my words. The last conversation that we had--I was only over there because she took a sleeping pill with alcohol and I got worried about her.” Ulquiorra fidgeted for a moment. “If anything, I want her back, but she doesn’t want me. We’re two messed up people.”

Ichigo laughed, although he wasn’t particularly amused. “You can say that again, but you’re wrong about the first part. Did you know she’s about to record an album? Like, I got yelled at before for interrupting a meeting about it. She doesn’t care about it though. She said she doesn’t care about anything. The only thing she talks about is you.”

“No, I didn’t know about that. My assistant refuses to keep me up to date with what she’s doing. What are you suggesting I do?” Ulquiorra asked.

“I’m not going to tell you what to do. If I was the king of relationships, I wouldn’t be here hiding out from mine. All I know is I like you guys, and I want you to both be happy.”

Ulquiorra gave the guy an unimpressed look. “Should I invite Grimmjow and Hailey for a weekend retreat?”

“Dear god, no,” Ichigo said, horrified.

“Do I even want to know what is going on?”

“Let’s just say… I like Hailey. I like Grimm. They don’t exactly feel the same way about each other.”

This made Ulquiorra chuckle, which sounded foreign in his ears. It had been a long time since he actually laughed or found joy in anything. “Jesus. I thought my life was fucked up. You have two options: one, let them have sex with each other and see if that rights things, or two, let them fight to the death.”

“I am cool with either as long as I get to watch,” Ichigo said, then hissed a snakey little chuckle.

“Ivan… You have issues.”


	2. It's a Dance

Ulquiorra said goodbye to Ichigo on August 29th. The orange-haired brat said he didn’t have to be back until September, but the musician told him to go back to Columbus and deal with his life. Truthfully, Ulquiorra was tired of having people around. He was tired of having to act okay around others.

The video for Obscuras IV’s single was popular. It already had over ten million views on YouTube. Gin kept praising him for a job well done. Ulquiorra could only guess that meant the sales of the physical and digital copies of the debut album were good. 

His mother was still salty about being shot. He could understand that. He’d be pissy about being shot, too, if that ever happened to him. His biggest surprise that month came when he barged into his mother’s office and saw Maria and Jon standing close together. His dad’s face was buried in his mom’s neck and they both looked disheveled.

  
  
That earned them a hard stare from him. “How long has this been going on?”

“Excuse me?” his mother replied. “You don’t get to ask--”

“Since your mother got shot.” Jon was the one to always give Ulquiorra straight answers. 

“That was what… two months ago?”

Maria scoffed as she stepped away from Jon and straightened her clothes. “Just because your love life is a mess doesn’t mean--”

Ulquiorra gave his mother a cold stare. “You two deserve each other. You’re both fucking disasters,” he stated as he left the office. He didn’t know why he was out of sorts about the news. Had it come earlier in the year, he would have already contacted Orihime, flooding her with texts about the development between his parents.

Orihime. He shook his head. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. He couldn’t stop singing songs for her in his new recording studio. All the songs sat on his laptop, waiting to be edited and uploaded to YouTube. He couldn’t do it, though. It hurt too much. She probably unfollowed him from all social media. He was probably blocked.

  
  
He deserved it. 

He’d been the world’s biggest asshole to her. 

Still… he wanted her to know that she was always on his mind. Her birthday was coming up.

It was a coward move, but he paid a visit to a florist. He paid for three dozen sterling roses to be sent to where she lived in Beverly Hills. Then he paid for two dozen red roses to be sent to the same address, along with a balloon. What the hell, he thought, a dozen pink roses were also put onto the order.

Each of the cards said something different. 

Pink ones had the word Vega. The card in the red bouquet said, “Happy birthday.” Ulquiorra signed the card of purple roses with just an IV and a tiny heart.

***

Ichigo had spent time with Orihime at least once a week while he stayed with Ulquiorra, and it had helped her immensely, just having a goofy companion to keep her mind off things from time to time. She was sad when he left.

Orihime finished recording her album, _Vega_ , by Vega Highwell, before her birthday. The label agreed that although Vega Strife had some name value from her internet presence, it sounded angsty and adolescent. The name Vega Highwell had room to grow with her into maturity. And although the album was full of pretty, moody, emotional music with gorgeous melodies and comparatively simple lyrics, it was not oriented toward tweens and adolescents. The themes were more adult in nature.

The label had brought on some great songwriters to work with her and co-write songs together. Her music education served her well, here. They were often able to write more than one song per day. Orihime was not the best lyricist, however. She gave a lot of input, but the act of crafting lyrics was not her forte. The writers she collaborated with made up for her shortcomings and actually encouraged her to go with her instincts and stick to clear, not overly-complex wording.

She did a few covers, though. One was Answer. Another was Disarm. The other was Sheryl Crow’s _I Shall Believe_ , which the label decided to use as her first single. Orihime was scheduled to do a round of radio interviews promoting the single for nationwide and local stations, and she had a small backing band come along with her. The song was very faithful to the original, although it was done in slightly a higher key. It kept the droning organ and dreamy guitar picking. One of the instrumentalists even provided similar harmonies on the “I shall believe” refrains. Orihime provided her own tambourine playing and vocals that swung from heartbroken to hopeful. It was very well received.

During the radio interviews, the hosts would always ask her about the song. Why did she choose it? Was it dedicated to anyone? She always answered a variation of the same answer: Of course she sang it with someone in mind. Someone she loves very much but she is very far away from.

Kisuke and Yoruichi took her out to lunch for her birthday and gave her a diamond pendant on a thin gold chain. It was the first real jewelry she had ever received. She was very moved, and hugged them both tightly. It was the first time she had genuinely smiled since that fight with Ulquiorra after the sleeping pill incident.

She wasn’t prepared for the surprise that awaited her when she got home. Yoruichi’s cleaning lady had signed for the flowers and left them all on the kitchen counter. She knew who they were from immediately. She read the cards, and when she saw the tiny heart next to his signature, she fell to her knees on the floor and sobbed. This hurt. If he loved her, why weren’t they together?

As much as she hurt, she knew. She knew at the bottom of her heart that he hadn’t sent them to be cruel. She knew he was probably just continuing his pattern of not thinking about how she might feel before doing something. No matter. She took a picture and put it on Instagram and tagged him in it, hashtag beautiful, hashtag thank you, hashtag 20.

But she didn’t have time to cry and feel sorry for herself all night. She needed to rehearse. The following Monday she would start rehearsals for the animated film she had been cast to sing for, and by the end of the following week she would be done recording all of the songs. After that, she would be doing tour rehearsals for a week. And after all that, on the twenty-fourth of September, she would kick off her tour in Los Angeles, returning and finishing the fast and furious mini tour on October fourth. 

***

He tapped his phone against his lip.

Ulquiorra wanted to text her. He wanted to tell her something. All he had done was like her birthday post on Instagram. It was now two days later; the one year anniversary of him knowing Orihime in person.

  
  
\- Happy Birthday (belated I know). You got my present. I hope you like it. Also… happy one year of knowing each other in real life? I don’t know. I wish we could talk, maybe have lunch. Congrats on the album, btw.

A heavy sigh left him. Ulquiorra wanted to stop the text from going out as soon as he pressed the part of his screen that would send it.

***

Orihime got the message as she was filming a music video for _Disarm_. Kisuke had it in his head that she should reprise the original YouTube video she had done, and had her wear a dark red gown and play the piano on a darkened sound stage with candles in the background. Orihime found the whole thing rather depressing. Suitable to her mood, perhaps, but she questioned whether it really suited the song. Kisuke compromised with her and juxtaposed the piano scenes with scenes of her lying on a beach at sunset with the same dress on, letting the waves crash over her, and her on a rooftop in the city, appearing to sing the song out to the lights at night. She just didn’t want the whole thing to scream “vampire lair.” That would not have been her.

She took a break about an hour after she got the text and bit her lip. She knew better by now. She knew he was probably reaching out because he was lonely, but that he still was the same person, the one who would think of himself and himself only when the going got rough. She was starting to grow a thick skin to him, finally. Dr. Tristan had been helping her see the patterns.

She still loved him, though. She didn’t want to hurt him. She tapped back a response.

\- Thanks. I’m glad we met a year ago. You’re the reason I’m here and have an album in the bank. You’re the reason I’m on a soundstage right now recording a music video. With luck it will drop next weekend in time for my tour. And thanks again for the flowers. It’s really too much for my place to handle but it smells and looks lovely.

She didn’t address the idea of getting together in real life to talk. She wasn’t ready for that. She didn’t know if she would ever be ready for that.

***

Okay. She was going to ignore his request. Ulquiorra thought about calling, but she was probably working when all he was doing was sitting in the outbuilding on his property. His laptop was open to YouTube, and five videos sat waiting to be uploaded. 

\- I’ve got another present for you; an EP. If I send you the links… You’ll listen, right?

The reply came moments later.

\- Of course I will.

Instead of sending links, he directly emailed the songs to Orihime. 

\- I miss you. I’m sorry. If you ever need me… I’m here.

She didn’t get the notification for the email, so she didn’t read it until they wrapped up filming late that night. She read the email and tried to wall off the feelings of warmth and regret that his message caused to blossom in her chest. She waited until she felt balanced and neutral again, then downloaded the songs.

She lay in bed and closed her eyes and listened, and her heart tore into a million pieces all over again. The first two songs were originally performed by Lauren Aquilina: _Broke_ and _King_. She didn’t feel that the lyrics were well-matched to their situation, and they were all laced with a strong sense of self-pity. They made her feel confused. They also made her feel that he was clearly struggling. Still… It wasn’t the olive branch she had been expecting.

The next song was a cover of Crown the Empire’s _Lead Me Out of the Dark_ , and it was much, much more relevant. The lyrics spoke to her, and if he meant them, he was apologizing and promising to be better. Again, the bloom of hope pounded inside her ribcage. She paused the song as the music died and calmed herself down. It took longer this time. She got up and had a drink of water. Then she came back to bed, laid down, and pressed play.

“Orihime. I know it’s been longer than ten days. Shit. It’s been months,” Ulquiorra said with a hint of a bitter laugh. “The lyrics to this song...” There was a sniffle. “I miss you.”

The next song was a cover of Incubus’ _I Miss You,_ done acoustically. Ulquiorra sang from his heart. Orihime had to press her eyes tightly closed and let tears pour down the back of her throat. Again, after this song she took a break and willed herself to calm down, although it took longer this time. The tightness in her throat felt unbearable. The song was simple. It was one lover telling the other that he missed her presence. The straightforward nature of the lyrics left no room for misunderstanding. They also made her heart ache, and when she was finally able to open her eyes, for just a half second, she was able to imagine his face looking at her from the pillow next to hers.

The vision faded quickly. This was brutal. She only had one more song file to listen to, though. She may as well just finish it, she decided, as she tapped on the file name.

“Vega... Veggs... Woman... Baby... These are all the things I call you. I can't keep your name off my lips or the memory of you out of my mind. I'm in love with you. I am so fucking in love with you. I don’t think you realize how much I miss you. I’m a mess. Yes, I know this is my own fault.” Silence. He was quiet for almost thirty seconds. “I’m sorry.” He coughed and sniffled again. “I remember how much you liked it when I sang this to you. I remember our phone calls which would end with this song. Sinatra? Moon River? You can listen anytime if you ever miss me. I love you.”

She didn’t even need the song to start before she started to wail into her pillow. It all hurt too much. But like the idiot that she was, she started to sing along with the chorus, an ugly, wrecked voice accompanying his soothing, albeit sometimes hitching with emotion, baritone. She wanted to call him. She wanted to ask him to come over. 

She reached for her phone and saw her bottle of sleeping pills. She remembered what Dr. Tristan would say. _“How do you feel?”_

Wrecked. Lonely. Terrified. Desperate.

It was late. She should sleep. She had to start working on that film on Monday. She grabbed the bottle and took one, then picked up her phone. She called him anyway.

“Hey,” he said after the first ring. “I’ve been sitting here waiting. I was hoping you’d call.”

“I…” she didn’t really know what to say, now that it came to it. “I called,” she said in a nasally, stuffy voice. “I listened.”

His voice was low, feeling unsure about how he felt. What if Orihime didn’t like it? He’d been so stupid to send her the songs. “Okay. I--I--” Ulquiorra sighed. “Any critiques?”

A single, voiceless laugh came through before she could censor it. “Are you kidding? You’re a pro, now,” she nearly whispered. “You sound great. Your first two selections were confusing, but they sounded lovely. I listen to everything you put out. I always will.”

“Um… The first two pertain to me mostly. The third one is me asking for you to forgive me. I think the fourth one is pretty cut and dry. The last one… You used to go to sleep to it.”

“I still do,” she confessed. “I sing it to myself when the pills take too long. I can sing it for you, if you want,” she offered, not yet realizing that the pills were, indeed, starting to take effect. 

Ulquiorra closed his eyes. As much as he wanted to talk to her, he kind of wanted to hear her sing to him. “Please?” he asked.

She didn’t say anything else, but began singing, “Moon River, wider than a mile, I’m crossing you in style someday. A dream maker, you heartbreaker, wherever you’re going, I’m going your way…” There was a long pause when she almost fell asleep, followed by a sharply pulled breath. “Two drifters off to see the world, there's such a crazy world to see…” her voice became quieter and more mumbling as she got to the end of that phrase and went silent, and stayed that way for another moment before she sounded like she was roused again. “Ulquiorra?”

“Hmmm?” he asked in a drowsy voice. He was enjoying hearing the soft quality and the sleepy slur to the words. “Yes, Veggs?”

“Thank you, for the gift.”

A smile spread on his face. He was enjoying this intimate concert with her. “You’re welcome, Orihime. I hope your birthday was decent. Happy anniversary, I guess.”

“Happy Anniversary,” she whispered before falling asleep.

***

The next morning, Ulquiorra was faced with a dilemma. Would he continue to ignore Orihime, or could he fix their relationship? Did she want that?

\- Thank you for last night. <3

It was a start.

Much to his surprise, a return call came immediately.

He almost dropped the phone. “Hey Veggs,” Ulquiorra answered with a warm voice.

“Veggs? Who is Veggs?” a stern voice replied.

“Fuck.” Ulquiorra knew that voice. It was the redhead’s assistant. “Where is Orihime?”

“She’s in a meeting. She has a tour starting in eighteen days and we need to get some things squared away. And what do you mean, “Thank you for last night”!? Did she cave?!”

The affection in his voice faded quickly. “None of your business. She’s going on tour? To where?”

Rukia sneered in a superior expression that leaked into her voice. “Hmm, so you haven’t been sneaking around and getting back together, I take it? Neither have you been listening to any of her radio interviews. I bet you don’t even know that she has a single out right now, do you!? Her tour starts on the twenty-fourth of this month. She has a website! Soul Society doesn’t pay for these things just for you to call me up and ask. Google is your friend. Usually!” she barked. The way she spoke and the things she said were confusing. 

The shrimpy woman wasn’t wrong, though. Ulquiorra hadn’t been listening to the radio interviews. It hurt to hear Orihime interacting with people so casually. “I know about the album. I’ve heard the single once. It just--You know what, I don’t have to justify myself to you. When Orihime gets finished, can you tell her I would like to speak to her?”

Rukia scoffed. “Tell her yourself!” she retorted, ending the call with a huff.

***

Orihime came out of the meeting tired and overwhelmed. They had blocked out the “choreography” for the entire show. She was going to sing the twelve songs from the album, plus her most popular YouTube covers. She wasn’t exactly expected to dance - she had free reign to move as she pleased - but the tour director wanted to make sure she and her backup band looked dynamic, and part of that was making sure she moved across the stage from time to time. 

  
She also had wardrobe to contend with. Much to her irritation, she had to argue with the director about what she’d be wearing. The set started with _Disarm_ , and had her in a replica gown from the videos and playing the piano. She’d segue into _Answer_ and then two of the original songs still wearing the dress, then she’d have a quick wardrobe change and come out in a leather skirt and bustier and do _Amnesia_ and another three original songs. The director had wanted her in something lacy and that had her boobs overflowing. Orihime had said no, the world had seen enough of her like that. She was fine with a bra-like top, but not anything with half-cups and see-through areas on her actual breasts. She won, in the end. The next change had her in the same bustier, but with torn black skinny jeans and a leather biker jacket, which Orihime rather liked, and she’d be playing rhythm guitar, doing another three original songs and _Lookin’ Too Closely_ , then she’d get put into a skin-tight black minidress, which she didn’t love, but it had thin straps and covered her boobs and wasn’t see-through, so she agreed. She’d do _Back to You_ , her last original song, _Let Go_ , and finish the set with the single, _I Shall Believe_. If the crowd demanded an encore, she’d give them _All My Life_ and _This Feeling_.

It was a lot of music to get through. It was discussed that they may cull some songs from the set list if it felt too cumbersome during dress rehearsal. Orihime was fine with that. She really liked all of the songs that they had selected, including the ones she had co-written, so if some had to go she wasn’t particularly picky, although everyone wanted Disarm and I Shall Believe to stay in to promote those recordings.

They looked over the mock-up merchandise and approved it. They had gone with a star motif which she rather liked. They talked about transportation and accommodations; it was only a two-week affair, and the first three cities were in California; LA, Fresno, and San Francisco, so after the weekend they would all come back into town, and the following weekend they would fly up to Portland and then the next day take a short flight to Seattle, and then fly back down to LA for a finale performance. That was it. Short and sweet. Her following wasn’t enormous yet, and she’d be playing large theaters and clubs instead of amphitheaters and arenas like Ulquiorra.

It was late when she was finished, and she was exhausted and had an early start the next day for the film. Rukia gave her the phone back and didn’t say a word about Ulquiorra texting. 

To be honest, Orihime didn’t remember the end of the phone call with him. She remembered calling and thanking him, but she didn’t remember singing to him; the sleeping pills had already taken hold by that point. She thought about him a lot on the way home, though.

Ulquiorra called her about two hours later, hoping that the little shit who worked for Orihime didn’t answer. He’d spent a good portion of the time between listening to the redhead’s radio interviews. He listened to her single.

  
  
It still hurt, but it wasn’t that bad.

They were on the mend, weren’t they? He sighed as he waited for the call to either get picked up or go to voicemail.

She was just getting out of the shower when the phone rang. “Hello?” she said after fumbling with it a bit, trying to dry her hands and put the thing on speaker so she wouldn’t get it all wet from her face and hair.

“Hey! Did Rukia tell you I texted earlier?” Ulquiorra asked, somewhat agitated.

“No? What the hell, Rukia? She’s been weird ever since I started getting bitchy with her brother. I think she might have been trying to set us up at one point. To say that neither of us was interested is an understatement. Sorry, I have had _a day_. How are you? What did you text me about?” She was babbling because she was uncomfortable being naked and talking into a speakerphone with her ex-boyfriend and not really knowing what this was about. She cringed at her foggy reflection in the mirror when she finally shut up.

“I texted to thank you for last night and singing me to sleep. It was the best night’s rest I’ve gotten in a while,” Ulquiorra answered. “Um, then Rukia called and bitched me out. I was just wondering...”

When he mentioned the singing, she was able to vaguely recall it, and blushed at the memory. It had been a very tender moment, despite her state of grogginess. Her voice was gentle when she prodded, “What were you wondering?”

“You weren’t going to tell me you were going on tour? Will you have dinner or lunch with me before you leave? I just want to talk to you,” he said.

“Well, we weren’t really on speaking terms,” she said in her defense, her heart clenching. “Um… I don’t know if I’ll be able to meet you before I leave; I’m starting work on this film tomorrow, and as soon as that’s over,I have tour rehearsals up until the day I leave. The first three dates are around here though, and they are all in a row; Thursday, Friday and Saturday. On Sunday I’m coming back home, and then we’re flying up to Portland on October second and then Seattle the next day and then a finale performance here in LA on the following Sunday. It’s just a tiny little tour.”

Ulquiorra sighed. “What about when you come back? Would you see me then?”

“Sure. Yes. What did you have in mind?”

“A date?” The words came out of his mouth fast. It was just on his mind and he didn’t mean to say them out loud.

That caught her off guard. She chuckled before she could stop herself. She was still amused when she answered, “Oh, okay.”

It sounded like she was mocking him. “I’m serious, Veggs. I want to date you again. I want to watch movies with you. I want to be your Obscuras again.”

She stopped what she was doing and a grin slowly grew on her face as her heart throbbed. She should not be this easily swayed. But the phrase, “your Obscuras”, tripped her up. It snagged her and reeled her in. “My Obscuras?” she echoed, in a soft, fond voice.

“Your Obscuras. You’re my Vega. I’ve never forgotten that. You’re my person. I’ve not had sex since North Carolina. I’ve not touched my dick since then. I don’t have any interest in anyone else. I couldn’t tell someone what turns me on without sounding like I was hung up on you. I love you, Orihime.”

“I love you,” she echoed again, sounding like she just realized it, although it was never actually very far from her mind. “I’m sure Ichigo told you while he was staying with you that our weekly get-togethers were basically me just regurgitating that phrase in as many different ways as I could in an effort to sound like I had anything else to talk about.”

He laughed, throwing his head back. “I tried to be discreet about my pining for you. Ivan caught me time and time again. When you dropped him off he was laughing at me for how stupid I looked or something.”

“You didn’t look stupid.” Her voice was infused with affection.

“Yeah I did. Who waits outside to see a glimpse of their ex? Me, the stupid guy who wasted months because he couldn’t swallow his pride and admit he fucked up and was wrong.”

She couldn’t argue with that. “Well, if you want to see me this week, you can catch me on _CrimeLab_. It’s on Tuesday at eight,” she said with a sarcastic edge. Ulquiorra didn’t watch much television.

He was way ahead of her there. “Already have it set to record every episode in September. What are you doing tonight? You know where I live and I know where you live. We could meet up.”

“I’m, um, naked right now. I just got out of the shower and am getting ready for bed. I have to go to work early tomorrow,” she said with an apologetic edge.

“Naked? Right now?” Ulquiorra smacked himself in the forehead. How much stupider could he be? “Sorry. I guess I’m getting ahead of myself.”

“Uh, yeah,” she said with a smile in her voice. “A bit. We’re not even back together yet.”

He snorted. “Yeah, I know. I got excited… like a dog who hears the word walk. But...” Ulquiorra paused and bit his lip. “Yet?”

“I’m stupidly optimistic. I think that’s how Mrs. White in the movie Clue described one of her dead husbands. I always thought it was fitting for me.”

Ulquiorra laughed again. “Even if I promise to behave, I can’t come see you tonight?”

“What time is it?”

“Look at your phone, silly. It should tell you the time. I’d drive anywhere to see you.”

“Heh, you say that today…” she said, a bit of the optimism fading from her voice.

Oh. Ulquiorra blew out a breath. She was afraid of him jumping ship again. “Okay. Sure, I understand. I hope everything goes well for your movie thing. I’m going to call you every night I can to pester you.”

“Okay. If Rukia answers, just hang up. It’s better just to not engage.”

“You know what? I’m coming over there,” Ulquiorra said, hauling himself out of his bed. “Just one hug and then I’ll go home.”

“What?” she asked, surprised, but the line was already dead.

***

Ulquiorra rolled up to the dark Beverly Hills house about forty minutes later. He didn’t know if Orihime was still awake. He dialed her number again and turned off the car. 

The gate opened and she came out in a nightgown and robe. It was hot, so the garments were neither long nor heavy. She had her hands clutched to the opening of the robe for modesty.

He looked at her through the window of the passenger side door before he pressed a button and rolled the glass down. “Want to get into this nice chilly car or do you want me to come out in the still fucking sweltering night?”

She looked up and down the street from the inside of the gate. “And have you kidnap me?”

“You act like I wouldn’t return you in the morning. I’d at least buy you breakfast.”

She scoffed. “I thought you said you were going to behave.”

Ulquiorra rolled the window up before he took the keys out and then stepped from the car. He walked over to where Orihime was standing. “Calling me out,” he said as he leaned against the gate post.

She raised one eyebrow at him and smiled self-consciously. “Somebody has to, I guess,” then looked down at her feet as she toed at a spot in the drive with her flip flop.

“So, I came all this way and fought traffic to see you,” he said. Ulquiorra reached towards her and lifted her chin. “Something on the ground interesting?”

When her eyes met his they were dark and heavy. Her cheeks were flushed. Her lips were red. “Um, I just, um, thought I needed a second.”

Seeing the state she was in made him want to pull her close and hold her; kiss her. Once again he was getting ahead of himself. He wanted to throw away that promise of being on his best behavior. Ulquiorra shouldn’t have driven over here. Those feelings of desire and lust along with love and warmth were going through him again. His thumb stroked her cheek before he let it slide over and down her bottom lip. He wanted to be with her. “Looks like you need a minute,” he remarked.

She exhaled quickly and took a step back, taking a slow, deep breath and looking back at the ground. “You’re probably right. I just haven’t seen you in a really long time, you know? It’s kind of a shock.” She took another deep breath and blew it out with a softly vocalized, “Woo,” as she used her hands to fan her face. “Okay, I think I’m okay now,” she said after about a minute, slowly looking up at him with her lips pressed together in an embarrassed smile.

She wasn’t going to be okay after he was done with her. Ulquiorra pulled Orihime to him, running his hands down her sides and settling them on her hips. He nudged her face with his nose and when it was in the right spot, he kissed her several times, almost teasing her. “You okay now?”

All of the blood in Orihime’s brain ran out and settled in the places that he touched. She heard him, but there was a delay between the time she recognized his voice and when she recognized his words. She opened her mouth to respond and only a tiny, high-pitched whimper came out.

A low growl came from him as he moved his hands around to her ass. Feeling how sheer and light the lingerie she wore was made something inside of him just want to defy everything. He wanted to feel what was under it, too. “I should go home,” he breathed against her mouth. He didn’t move though.

That was it. This feeling that she had so desperately missed. The feeling of finally, _finally_ , being home. The smell of his soap alone was enough to break her. Her eyes welled with tears and she pecked his lips before burying her face in his chest and holding onto him around the torso. “I missed you,” she whispered.

“I missed you too. I’m sorry I was an idiot.” He kissed her again. “When you get done with this tour, I’m taking you on a date; a proper one. You’re going to come to my house and we’re going to do things—the things we said we were going to do when I was in Laguna Beach.”

She nodded up and down repeatedly. “Okay,” she breathed, blinking tears out of her eyes as she looked through them at his.

He took one hand and wiped a tear from her cheek. “I’m sorry I treated you the way I did. I love you, Orihime, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. You’re my best friend. I had no one to share gossip with about Ivan. I couldn’t tell anyone about my parents. I had no one around to bitch about my remodeling woes.” Another tear spilled from her eye. “What’s wrong? Am I making you sad again?”

She shook her head but her face did look sad. “I’m sad that we lost so much time, but I’m not really crying about that, It’s more that,” she had to take a deep breath and swallow before she continued. “You’re here. I--” her lip started wobbling and she blinked furiously and tried to get her breath again. “I feel like I found a piece of me that I thought had died.”

Again his arms wrapped around her. “C’mon,” he said taking her hand. “I’m going to tuck you into bed. I promise to be a good boy.”

She didn’t have it in her to say no. She followed without protest. He walked her up the stairs to the room with the weird window and sat her on the bed. Neither of them spoke while she slipped her arms out of her robe and set it further toward the foot of the bed and then slid her legs under the covers.

True to his word, Ulquiorra was a complete gentleman and helped her into bed. He covered her up then he looked down at her. “I’m going to stay, if that’s okay. You look like you need me tonight.”

She looked at the bottle of sleeping pills. For some reason, whenever she did that, she conjured the image of Dr. Tristan. _“How do you feel about that, Orihime? Do you need him?”_ the bottle seemed to ask her. One corner of her mouth pulled to the side as she realized how crazy she was. “I do,” she said, resigned to it, but not unhappy.

“Okay,” he replied, going to the other side of the bed. All he did was sit down and toe his shoes off. Ulquiorra kept his clothes on and slipped under the blankets with her. It was just them sleeping together. Nothing else.

Orihime was tense at first, unused to sharing her space with him anymore. It didn’t take very long for her shoulders to melt and her hand to seek his out, her fingers slowly sliding between his. She closed her eyes then, and her features relaxed. “Good night, Ulquiorra,” she whispered.

“Night, Veggs,” Ulquiorra said, pulling her close, letting his arm drape across her waist. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

***

Ulquiorra looked at Orihime as she was packing for her tour. He sat on her bed cross-legged. “It sucks that I can’t come to your shows. Stupid Espada and keeping me busy for fucking video shoots. It feels like they did this on purpose.”

“I doubt it,” she smiled at him as she said it. “Besides, if any of them watched _CrimeLab,_ they probably think I’m dead anyway.”

He smirked at her. “You’re not going to be winning any Emmys for that performance, though I would have loved to have seen what was under that sheet.”

She rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Do you say that to all of your friends, Obscuras?”

A chuckle. “C’mon, you know I’m playing around. And seeing how you’re my only friend… yes, yes I do say that to all of them.”

“Don’t let Ivan hear you say that. Speaking of, did you tell him we were talking again?”

Aside from the occasional text, Ulquiorra barely spoke to the people in Ohio. He shook his head. “No, but he says he wants to come back. I told him to bring Grimm and Hailey. I was flipped off through text message.”

“Ooooh, trouble in paradise?” She took a sharp breath through her nostrils. “Anyway, he has been sending me texts all week that are just like, “LOL” and then like winking or sly-face emojis, like he knows something.”

“Wait,” Ulquiorra held up a hand and fished his phone out of his pocket. He tapped on Ivan’s texts and scrolled through them. “Okay, I said we were on speaking terms, but that was it.”

“Well, I think I should troll him. What do you think about me asking him to be my thirty-five year old backup?”

He laughed. “Why don’t you ask him if Grimm and Hailey have done the deed yet? He might have a heart attack over it.”

“Hmmm, let’s try it.” She sent the text and set her phone down as she searched through her underwear drawer for her most modest pajamas. It didn’t take long for Ichigo to respond. She picked it up and laughed before she read aloud, _“I don’t know, but if they did soon that would be great. Maybe they can get married and just keep me as a side piece because those are two moody bitches.”_

“Wow, he’s still avoiding responsibility there,” Ulquiorra stated, rubbing the back of his neck. “I can’t believe him at times. When he was staying with me and I heard him talking to you… He kept hinting that you were pregnant or something. Said you were in a delicate condition or something.”

She furrowed her brows. “What? That’s absurd. I can’t get pregnant.” She shook her head and looked back into her drawer, then stopped and turned to him. “I think he meant delicate mental condition,” she said with a confirming nod and then returned to her task.

Ulquiorra nodded. If she had been pregnant, he didn’t know what he would do. Children weren’t on the roster for him… Well, not at this moment. Maybe in like twenty years. Just hearing Ivan trying to egg him on had made him panic. What would he have done if she was pregnant? Knowing himself, he would have run. He shook his head at his foolishness. “I kinda figured that. I knew you’d tell me if anything like that popped up. I also think he was trying to ruffle my calm and cool exterior.”

She gave a wry smile. “Yeah, he’s good at that. But seriously, unless I have surgery to remove my implant, there are no babies in my future for at least…” she paused and took out her fingers, counting silently, “two more years? One and a half? I better make a call soon.”

That was good to know, he thought, as he made a mental note. “I know but--Are you going to be okay on this? Is there security? I’m going to worry about you.”

“I’m sure there is, the tour director is this veteran dude. He knows what he’s doing.”

“Hmph.” He pouted for a moment. Soul Society was treating Orihime with kid gloves. She got a tour director and a bunch of other staff, while Espada Records had thrown Ulquiorra to the wolves. “Call me every night? Text me when you can… Jesus, did you feel like this when I was leaving?”

“Yes,” she said with a mirthless laugh. “Except much worse. You were going to be gone for two months. I’m only going to be gone for three nights in a row for two weeks.

His mouth formed a thin line, expressing his displeasure at the situation. “I’m going crazy and you’re still here. I know I’m going to miss you.”

She turned to face him and took a few steps toward him, standing beside the bed. “You think I won’t? I know I’ll be the busier one this time, but I still miss you even when you’re just across the city.” She put her hands on his shoulders and forced eye contact. “Trust me. You will be missed,” she stated, then went back to her packing.

“You know...” he said before trailing off. It was a bad idea to even say it because they technically weren’t together. They were just best friends who hung out and occasionally kissed. Dear fucking God he wanted to do more. He wanted to bury himself in her.

“I know what?” she asked, closing the drawer she had been in and stuffing some things into a suitcase.

“Nevermind. I’m getting ahead of myself again.”

“Hm,” she laughed through her nostrils. He had been doing that a lot lately. She didn’t mind, but she thought it was a very bad idea to jump the gun _again_. “Oh, could you do me a favor?” she asked, thinking maybe giving him a task would get his mind off of it.

His eyes slid in her direction. “What?” Ulquiorra asked.

“Could you pass me that suede pouch on my other dresser?” There was a flat, soft, almost velveteen suede leather envelope lying there.

With a sigh, Ulquiorra unfolded his legs and stood, moving over to get the thing she wanted. He walked around the bed to hand it to her. “You could move in with me. I have the room. It’s a four bedroom house. We could be roommates,” he said quietly, holding the pouch out to her.

That wasn’t what she was expecting. She looked at him, absently fondling the pouch’s magnetic closure, as she considered what he said. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, Ulquiorra. I mean, I had already asked you the same question, more or less. I just don’t want to set us up for failure again. And…” she sighed as she opened the pouch and took out her birthday necklace, bringing the ends around her neck and fastening it before fluffing her hair back out. “I promised Yoruichi and Kisuke that I would keep an eye on the place while they were gone. Right before I get back from tour, they are taking another trip to Atlanta; this time for three weeks. And they’re taking Rukia with them.”

A frown briefly came over his face as he looked at the necklace. He never bought her jewelry. All he had ever bought her was lingerie. He understood what she was saying. “Look, the failure that happened the last time was my fault, and I’m not asking this to be a romantic thing. Maybe eventually it will be, but…I’m asking if you want to move in with me to keep me company and as a friend. I’ve taken up a lot of your time since we started talking again. I just want to show you that I’ve got it together this time.”

“You think you could handle that? Because I have my doubts,” she said sweetly. “I don’t want to accidentally evolve into friends with benefits and then get stuck there and hurt each other. That would be the worst.”

“Orihime,” he said. “It’s been two weeks and I’ve not really made a move on you. I’m waiting until you’re ready.”

“You have too much blind faith in my willpower. Remember when we talked about this when I was still living in Ohio? I told you I’d get lonely.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “So are you saying if I tried anything, you wouldn’t stop me?”

“I cannot guarantee results at this time; clinical trials have not yet been completed. Side effects are not yet known,” she teased. 

He stood, threaded his fingers through her long hair, and gently pulled her head back so she was looking up at him. Ulquiorra kissed her on the mouth before he kissed her neck. “We should wait for the results to get back,” he said, stepping away from her.

She cleared her throat and blinked a couple times before answering him. “Indeed. Current experiments yield varying, sometimes volatile results.”

Letting a long breath out, Ulquiorra nodded. He was feeling those volatile results at the moment. He had to turn away from her to adjust himself. “What’s on the calendar for the rest of the week besides the tour kickoff?”

“Let me see,” she said, picking up her phone and acting like everything was normal even though it felt like the temperature in the room had risen by ten degrees. “Well, I have one more musical rehearsal tomorrow and then dress rehearsal Tuesday and Wednesday, and then we have the first performance here in town on Thursday. I have a radio interview and/or performance each morning during rush hour to promote it.” 

“Busy, busy.” Ulquiorra turned back around when he felt like his face wasn’t on fire anymore. “Is today the only day I get with you then?”

“I could meet you potentially for a late dinner or something like that, but we’ll have to play it by ear. No promises. Sorry.”

“I could stay--” Ulquiorra stopped speaking. With a sigh, he knew what her answer would be. She had work to do. She had to be up early and didn’t know when she would be back at night. “Okay.”

“I’m sorry, Ulquiorra. It is what it is. How about we give each other something to look forward to and something to work on? An assignment, if you will? I’m thinking we take some time, as much time as we need, and think about what we want from each other and what we think we need to do to get it? Write down the reasons we think it’s worth it and the anticipated difficulties we’ll face to achieve our goals? It might make the time pass more quickly.”

He rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. An assignment? What was he, back in high school? Sometimes he didn’t understand his body or his brain. He had been fine and emotionless when he was separated from Orihime. He didn’t think about what he wanted. Now that he was around her again… His feelings were back and his hormones were raging. It was frustrating. Why couldn’t he have a switch to flip off those feelings and thoughts? “Maybe, I mean I did make time for you before I left. I understand if your people are having you do more stuff.”

“It sounds like they are. But if you need… What do you need? What will make you satisfied?” she asked, and this being the first time she felt bold enough to even think the question in such words, she had a bit of a twinkle in her eyes. He was either going to embarrass himself, put his foot in his mouth, or completely surprise her. 

“For right now?” he asked. What he needed? Pfft. The moment he opened his mouth to tell her what he needed, she’d shoot him down. Ulquiorra shrugged before lying to her. “I don’t know. Holding you at night could be the only thing that would fall into that category. We can’t go any farther than that.”

Orihime shook her head. “You’re just begging for trouble. What if we do that? What do you think will happen? You think you would be able to do that and behave yourself for five nights in a row? I doubt it. Besides, all it will do is confuse me. You know how I mistake physical intimacy for emotional intimacy.” She shook her head again, repeating the issue that Dr. Tristan had pointed out to her. “It wouldn’t be good.”

She had a point, but Ulquiorra wasn’t planning to stay all those nights. He’d stay just until he felt the need to escalate things and then he’d go back to Malibu. “What would satisfy you?” he asked, his mood starting to turn slightly sour.

She hadn’t really considered it. Well, she had, but she didn’t think Ulquiorra was ready to hear it. She had told him multiple times before and it always made him pissy. “This is an unfair question. You know I enjoy being with you in a physical sense as much as you do, but I’m feeling a little gun shy this time. I feel like this is our absolutely last chance. I don’t want to fuck it up. I don’t know. Maybe I’m being too cautious, but things used to be so easy; I knew what my heart wanted and I just followed it. Now I’m… I'm walled off, I guess. Careful. I’m afraid of getting hurt more than I am eager to get in your pants, I think.”

“That doesn’t answer my question, though. We don’t need to be physically intimate with each other to be satisfied. I mean, it’s something I would like. I told you what would satisfy me and I want to know what would satisfy you,” Ulquiorra replied. He knew he wouldn’t be satisfied though… not truly. “I can understand being careful and walled-off. Some days I’m like, _yes, I want this_ , and other times I’m apprehensive.”

That was it. “You just answered the question for me. I’ll be satisfied when I can feel safe with you again. When I can feel confident that you're not going to up and change your mind about us and leave me again. Until then, it’s a dance. I like dancing with you, but it’s just a dance. So we can hang out or talk or have dinner and I’ll be partially satisfied. As long as we keep dancing, I’m good.”

  
He closed his eyes and nodded. He could only agree with her, as much as he didn’t want to. He wanted to be with her.


	3. Fragility

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning after Barrett leaves Orihime at her car at the office building AFTER THE ENTIRE TOUR IS OVER (near the end of the chapter). If you don't want to read it after that, you can pick it up in the next chapter and you'll be able to glean what happened.

After the show in San Francisco, Orihime was feeling pretty confident, and slightly disappointed that she only had three shows left. The crowd had great energy and she did her encores and wished she had more to give. It was late, though. She ran back to her dressing room, got changed into some jeans and a t-shirt, and packed up her personal items while the roadies and instrumentalists were striking their respective things to pack back into the trailer they were using. She was anxious to get back to her hotel and give Ulquiorra a call. The entire crew was planning to stay overnight in San Francisco and drive back to LA in the morning. On her way out to the car that was waiting for her, she was stopped by a group of mostly young people, waiting to get a picture or an autograph. 

Orihime looked up to her security guy, whom she called Barrett, as they walked to the car He gave a nod. “These people have been through a security check at the cordoned-off area and have been allowed back here to wait, although they understand that you are not obligated to stop for them. It’s totally up to you.”

Orihime nodded and smiled at the group. There were about thirty-five people in all. Their faces lit up and they waved to her as she approached a concrete half-wall that separated them. She spent about half and hour shaking hands, taking selfies, and signing the merch they had purchased at the venue. She talked to a group of young women for several minutes, and she was enjoying their enthusiasm so much that she asked them if she could take a picture of herself with all of them and upload it to her Instagram. The girls were over-the-moon excited when Orihime took her own phone out and smiled as the girls gathered around her. “Okay, make sure you comment on the pic so I can tag you in it! I’ll put hashtag VegaHighwell2020 and NewBFFs on it, okay?” she said, smiling as she waved and walked away.

Once she was in the car, she uploaded the picture, and then called Ulquiorra.

“Hey Veggs,” he said. He was walking in his backyard from the studio up to the house. “How was the concert… thing… gig?”

“It’s a concert, c’mon, give me some credit! I even met some fans.” She sounded giddy. “Isn’t that weird?! I have  _ fans _ !” She laughed. “You should check my Instagram, I took a bunch of selfies.”

Ulquiorra shook his head. “I’ve already glanced at them. You look good. How does it feel to hit the big time, Hot Shot?”

She laughed at him using her words against her. “It’s great so far. I absolutely love the energy from the audience. I mean, my shows are not enormous; they are decent, but not huge. They are still a lot bigger and more produced than anything I have ever worked on. I’m kind of sad that I only have three shows left.”

He frowned. On one hand he was happy she was enjoying herself and what she was doing, but on the other hand he wanted her back home; back to him. “Ask your team if they can get you more dates? I mean they can do that on the fly, can’t they? Don’t you have a manager?”

“No, just the tour director. I mean, technically there’s Kisuke, although it’s below his pay grade, but he is rather hands on with my career. Then there’s that I’m a solo artist so I don’t even directly  _ have _ to deal with the instrumentalists. They are freelance; I have three different drummers. One for each state. We have too many people involved to be able to change things on the fly I think.”

That made sense. He wished he could be a solo artist and not have to deal with band members. Espada Records had declined to add more members to Obscuras IV or even consider hearing Grimmjow or Ichigo. “I miss you,” he said finally, after several moments of quiet between them.

“I miss you, too, but I’m going to be home tomorrow afternoon. I’ll be home for three days.”

Ulquiorra bit his lip, trying to refrain from saying something that would offend the redhead. “Wanna come out to Malibu for an afternoon?” he asked.

“Yeah, that would be great. I haven’t had a proper tour of your place, yet. I’m excited to see the before and after of your remodel. I hope you don’t think it’s creepy that I totally stalked it on the real estate website before they took down the listing.”

“Good, so you know your way around, already,” he teased. Ulquiorra paused for a moment. “My room is kind of in the basement area? The house was built into the hill.”

“The basement? It doesn’t feel claustrophobic?”

Ulquiorra reached the door that would lead into one of the bedrooms. He unlocked it and went inside. “No, there’s floor to ceiling windows everywhere. The ceilings are tall. I don’t have curtains on any of the windows.” 

“So has home ownership turned you into an exhibitionist?” she chuckled. 

“Maybe. No one can see through the vegetation and there’s a fence around the entire property.”

“I guess there is something inherently manly about standing at the front of your castle, peen on full display, hands at your hips, a parrot on your shoulder, and telling it,  _ You see, Simba, everywhere the light touches, that is our kingdom,” _ she snickered. “I guess I have to get you a housewarming gift. How do you feel about birds?” She started to giggle then, hand over her mouth in an attempt to maintain control.

He snorted with laughter. “No animals. Maybe you and a new bad habit? I’d accept that as a housewarming gift.”

She clicked her tongue at him three times in disapproval. “That’s for boyfriends… or girlfriends… or whatever lover-type person you have. I thought we agreed we’re not there yet?” Her mood was still playful despite enforcing the boundaries.

Visibly cringing at the scolding, Ulquiorra let out another chuckle but this time it sounded uncomfortable. “Yeah, I guess so. There’s still the photos I have on my computer, so I’ll have to make do with those.”

She snorted. “There’s always the video from Austin floating around the web if you’re really hard up.”

“I’m glad you’re having fun Orihime. I’m glad you’re enjoying what you’re doing.” Ulquiorra decided to change the subject. Talking about anything that had to do with Nemu was still an uncomfortable subject.

“So, do you want me tomorrow, or the day after, or what? Tell me your schedule. I am more or less free until Wednesday night.”

He took the phone away from his ear and put it on speaker as he looked at Nanao’s latest text. “I’m free until Wednesday. We’re shooting promo shots for the new single.”

“Awesome, you’re not wasting much time. That’s good. Keep it relevant. Speaking of which, how about an old school Instagram selfie for me? Maybe just your smile?” She was feeling a bit nostalgic as she realized how much she was missing him.

“Uh,” Ulquiorra said. He was in the process of taking off his shirt. “Now?”

“If you’re willing. I miss you.”

“I’m kind of half naked and close to being naked,” he explained. “I was in the studio and cleaned the pool today. I also cleaned my house… I need a shower.”

She sighed. “Fine. I mean, it’s not like your fans would  _ enjoy _ a shirtless, sweaty selfie or anything… just sayin’,” she goaded.

He shook his head again as he stripped off the rest of his clothes and launched them towards the clothes hamper. “If I’m gonna send selfies, I should manscape a bit.”

She laughed. “What? It’s not like you’re a hairy guy… Are you?” She had never seen him with a lot of body hair.

“Someone’s been looking.”

“Well, duh. I’ve liked what I’ve seen. Or have you forgotten?” She was toeing a dangerous line here, but she didn’t mind so much. She was allowed to flirt with him, she thought. Besides, there were many miles separating them tonight. Hundreds, in fact.

His mouth pressed into a thin line. Ulquiorra walked into the bathroom and stood in front of the full length mirror on the back of the door. He took a photo of his naked body and then sent it to Orihime before taking the call off speaker. Leaning against the counter he smiled. “You’ve got a surprise.”

“Oh?” she asked with a curious edge, then felt her phone buzz as the message came in. “Hold on.” She opened the message and the picture popped up. Oh. Ohhhh. Oh my. That was a sight for sore eyes. She realized she wasn’t alone in the car and brought the phone back up to her ear, her mouth close to the microphone so she could speak softly enough to keep the driver from hearing. “No, I think you don’t need a lot of manicuring at all.” The way the microphone picked up the breathy quality of her voice amplified how much of an effect the visual had on her.

He heard it. He noted it. Ulquiorra could feel himself getting hard. Fuck. “Are you sure? Maybe you need a closer picture?”

A shaky exhale answered him first. “Maybe. I mean, I could zoom in, but the details aren’t great at that angle. You aren’t using the HD settings, are you?” Her voice could be read as either sleepy or seductive, someone who didn’t know her might not be able to tell.

“I was standing far away. It was so you could enjoy the full experience,” he replied. His voice was low and smooth. “I’m hard right now, Veggs.”

She closed her eyes and crossed her legs, a soft, barely perceptible hum coming out with her breath. “Prove it,” she murmured before she thought better of it.

Ulquiorra didn’t wait for her to change his mind. He snapped the photo and sent it to her. “Should I let you go for the night?”

She snuck a peek before she answered, finding it necessary to swallow first. “I may need some privacy,” she admitted, her voice thick.

He let out a wicked laugh. “Too bad,” Ulquiorra teased. “If you were alone, I’d let you watch me shower. I could give you a good show.”

“You’re evil, you know that? Pure, unadulterated evil. I want to see that. Maybe not tonight, but damn, Cifer, you know I have the hots for you, right?” she asked like the total dork she truly was.

Ulquiorra started feeling himself blush and an awkward smile spread on his face. She had to know the effect that she had on him; his body and mind. “You know I have the hots for you too, Inoue, so we’re even.”

“Well now that I have photographic evidence, I am quite clear. But yes, we’re even. I love you, Ulquiorra. I’ll let you get in the shower before you freeze that cute ass of yours off.”

As he laid in bed an hour later, Ulquiorra had looked at the photos on Instagram again and smiled before going to sleep. 

He was woken up very early by a phone call.

“What the fuck do you mean Aizen is in every photo she’s taken?” Ulquiorra asked his assistant. He was sitting in his kitchen trying to eat breakfast when she just opened his front door, unannounced, and walked in like she lived there. “Nanao, I need to know.”

“Look, I didn’t notice it. Riruka said something, and I went back over the photos. Aizen has been to every concert of hers. He’s the most visible in these ones from San Francisco. Look,” she said and handed him a folder.

Ulquiorra took it from her and flipped it open. Inside were 12 photos that all had an older man in them somewhere. He put on his glasses and stared at the newest Instagram photos she had taken. Aizen was clearly in the background.

“See--”

“Shut up, Nan. I have to call Orihime. She has to know about this,” Ulquiorra replied.

Nanao shuffled her feet. “I think you should take them to Urahara.”

“He’s not in California at the moment!” Ulquiorra snapped and snatched his phone off the countertop. He tapped Orihime’s name.

“Hello, and good morning!” Orihime’s voice was more bright and chipper than usual at this hour.

Ulquiorra was somewhat caught off guard by her tone. Shit. He was probably about to ruin her day. “Baby, I’ve got some really bad news,” he said.

His tone gave her immediate pause and alarm. “What is it?”

“Aizen… he’s in the selfies that you took last night. He’s been in all the photos that you’ve posted on Instagram. He’s been to your shows.”

“No, that’s impossible. That’s impossible, I would have known if he was here. I would have…” She put him on speaker and pulled up Instagram on her phone with shaky hands. She didn’t see anything at first, and took a slow, calming breath. It must be some kind of mistake. “No, I don’t see him in any of these. Are you sure you’re not making a mistake?”

Of course she wouldn’t believe him. Jesus. “No, I’m not making a mistake. I’m looking at full page photos of your Instagram pics that Nanao brought me. There’s like twelve of them and she’s circled him in each photo.”

“Ulquiorra, this isn’t funny. You’re scaring me,” she whimpered. She really didn’t see it, but she could tell he meant what he said. “Where is it? Where is he?”

“In the newest ones? He’s in the left hand upper corner. In the LA ones? He’s standing in the background. I’m not trying to scare you Orihime.”

She sniffed as she navigated to the picture she had uploaded of the group of girls she had tagged #NewBFFs, and sure enough, there he was. You could only see half of his face, and there was a shadow on it, but when she zoomed in on it, it was unmistakable. Her whole body began to tremble and she spoke to Ulquiorra in a tiny, almost childlike voice, “What am I supposed to do? What do I do? Help me.”

“You call Urahara. You inform him of the situation. You tell your people. You let them know, so they can take care of you the next tour date you have.”

She nodded. It made sense. “Yeah, yes. I can do that. I…” she held the phone down near her knees as she whined a long, panicked sound, then brought it back up. “Okay. I’m going to call. I’m going to call Barrett and have him walk me down to the car. We have to leave in ten minutes. I need to calm down. I’m coming home. I’ll be safe, right?”

Ulquiorra had to take a calming breath. He was wired with so much anxiety at the moment. “Yes, please. Be safe. Come home to me. Do you want me to wait for you? Or I can come get you?”

“Could you please come and get me at Kisuke’s house? I’m freaking out.”

“Leaving right now. I’ll be waiting for you when you get there.”

“I’m not going to be there for another six hours. I’ll let you know when I am closer.”

Orihime did as she was told. There wasn’t much Urahara could do but make more phone calls on her behalf, which was good. Nobody who worked for Soul Society wanted to risk pissing him off; he was a high-ranking executive and very close friends with the CEO. 

Orihime called her security guy and was escorted from her room to the car. Once she was inside, she called Ulquiorra back. 

It figured he was stuck in traffic. Ulquiorra pressed a button on the steering wheel to answer the call. “Hey, Orihime. I’ll be in Beverly Hills in about two or three hours, depending on this traffic.”

“That’s fine. We just got on the freeway. I spoke to Kisuke and he is making calls. He recommended that I not be alone, if possible, while he’s out of town, at least until someone has eyes on… you know who.”

Ulquiorra nodded. That was exactly what he was thinking. “Would you want to stay at my place or me stay at yours?”

She took a deep breath. She had been thinking about this for several minutes already. “I think it’s safer at your place. I don’t think he would know where you live.” She thought about it again. “Maybe it’s better if I just get dropped off… no, wait, I need… Can I do my laundry over there?” She was so nervous, she wasn’t thinking clearly or appropriately prioritizing things.

“Do you know how to operate a washer and a dryer?” He asked. Ulquiorra knew this wasn’t the time to tease her, but he needed to take his mind off things too. “Yeah, you can. I might have to go to the store when I get you. Why don’t we meet at the Soul Society building?”

“I am scared that he might be tracking me. Maybe it’s better to meet at, like, a Home Depot or something. Somewhere unexpected.”

“Just tell me where to meet you. I’ll be there.”

“Ok. I’m going to make a few more calls. I’ll call you back in a bit. I love you,” Orihime said, a bit calmer.

He echoed the sentiment and then hung up.

***

About two hours into the drive to Los Angeles, the driver pulled into a gas station. “This will only take a few minutes, Ms. Vega,” the man said as he got out and refueled the vehicle, then went into the building.

The man’s name was not Barrett. It was Zommari. He went into the restroom and took out his phone.

“Hello, Zommari. Is everything going according to schedule?” a silken voice answered.

“No, sir. They are on to you. You may want to skip town for a few days.”

“Thank you, Zommari. I’ll take it under advisement.”

***

Another couple hours later, Orihime got a call from Urahara.

“Hime-chan, I have some good news for you.”

“What is it?”

“Aizen. He was spotted and flagged down by some gossip columnist in the San Francisco Airport. He was just about to board a flight back to Columbus. I guess you’re safe now.”

“What?” It made no sense to her. Why would Aizen come to her shows and just leave?

“Yes, apparently he went back. You can breathe easy now, princess. I’ll let you call Mr. Cifer and tell him it was a false alarm.”

“Thank you, Kisuke,” she said, exhaling deeply and slumping back into her seat. She was safe.

She called Ulquiorra.

“Hello, Orihime? Is everything okay? Where are you going to meet me?” Ulquiorra asked. He was parked in front of Urahara’s home.

“I just spoke to Kisuke. He said he had confirmation that Aizen is getting onto a flight to Columbus. Right now.” She sighed in relief again; just saying it out loud to someone else made it feel more real. 

Relief spread through his body like a hot shower. It relaxed him somewhat. “Okay but...” Ulquiorra paused for a moment. “I still want you with me until you have to leave again.”

She smiled before she replied, a shaky chuckle introducing her words. “I can live with that. I’m on my way back to Kisuke’s house for now. Can you meet me there? I’m about forty-five minutes away.”

“I’m already here. I’ve been here for a couple of hours waiting for you. I’ve been--I’m almost out of my mind with worry over this. I can’t believe the audacity of him.”

“Neither can I. I know it’s stupid, but I feel like… I don’t know. I don’t want to cancel the rest of the tour, but I need a buddy. I wish Rukia was here; I could make her come with me.”

Ulquiorra sighed. “Nan came with me. She was there every step of the way. Besides you… she keeps my head on straight. She doesn’t bullshit me either.”

“I mean, I’ve always had to be pretty independent, so it didn’t even occur to me that I might need someone. It’s just three days. Maybe I should ask Soul Society if there is anyone else who can come with me and stay in my hotel room with me. I trust Barrett, but I’m not inviting him into my room, no offense,” she said, addressing the driver for the last part.

“Orihime, she’s your assistant isn’t she? That’s what she’s paid to do; assist you when you need it. Maybe call Urahara and ask?” he suggested.

“She is his and Yoruichi’s assistant. They’ve been lending her to me on an as-needed basis. I should really be interviewing for my own assistant, but I like Rukia and haven’t felt the need for anyone until now. And still, it’s just to feel safe in my room. Maybe I should just get a dog.”

Nanao had suggested Ulquiorra get a dog, since he felt lonely sometimes out where he lived. “I’ve been thinking about getting a dog. Maybe we can go to a shelter this week and look at them?”

That surprised her. “Really? I mean, that sounds like a lot of fun so let’s do it, but you are seriously thinking of getting a dog?”

His mouth twisted to the side. “I mean, we could get one. They’re a lot better than vegetable children...” Ulquiorra didn’t know what her reaction would be to this. “I think I’d get a big dog, not a small yappy one.”

“ _ We _ could? What are you suggesting?” Her mind recalled the shocking admission he had made to Teen Vogue about wanting to get married.

“We could… You and I could adopt a dog,” he replied cautiously, unsure why she would be questioning it. “You could take it on the rest of your tour, and when you come back, you could bring the dog back to me. Or we can get you a dog.” Maybe he had put his foot into his mouth again.

“That might work,” she said thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable asking Kisuke and Yoruichi to allow me to keep a pet here, but we could share a dog if you would be happy to keep it at your house.” She wasn’t sure if he was implying what she thought he was implying, but she was agreeable to sharing a dog with him as friends. As more? It was more complicated, but she knew enough about animals from television to know that they preferred their routine, and if she and Ulquiorra parted ways again, the dog should stay with him.

He heard her tone. She wasn't thinking about them as being together. They were just friends. He sighed, disappointed. He kept getting his hopes up, only to get them dashed to bits. It was becoming tedious to handle. “Sure,” Ulquiorra said.

“If you don’t want to, we don’t have to,” she said. She had heard something in his voice that sounded less than enthusiastic.

“It’s not that, Orihime,” Ulquiorra said, becoming dissatisfied with everything concerning them. “You know how we were talking before you left?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m having more days of yes, I want to do this, instead of second thoughts. I just think...” Ulquiorra took a deep breath. “I think we should only do this if we’re… together. If we can’t do that, then we should look into getting our own animals, instead of confusing one.”

She sighed. He was right. “Maybe this isn’t the right time. I mean, it wouldn’t be fair to the animal.” 

It bothered her more and more that he was wishy-washy about them getting back together now, when he had been the one to push for it in the first place, all  _ after _ leaving her for the third, possibly fourth or fifth, time. It didn’t instill a lot of confidence that he would stick around this time, either. “I mean, we’re still just dancing, I guess.”

Still dancing? Psht. “Right. Still dancing.” Ulquiorra wanted to tell her it was time to find a new dance partner, or sit the fuck down, because this was frustrating him. He was willing to make this work for them. He had his head on straight. He had his life together. “Anyway, I’ll be here when you get here.” 

What was his problem? She ended the call and slumped into her seat and stayed quiet until she got home. She stepped out at the curb and got her bags out of the back of the car, waving to Ulquiorra while he sat in the car.

He waved back and got out of the car. He had popped open the trunk. “Want me to put your stuff in?”

“Um, sure?” She wasn’t sure that he still wanted her to come back with him.

“You don’t sound too sure.”

“I’m not. You’re giving me mixed signals,” she said, deciding to level with him.

Ulquiorra pointed at himself. “I’m giving you mixed signals?” he asked, scoffing after he said the words. “I just told you I was sure of us and you say you wanna keep dancing.”

“No, that’s not what you said. You said you were “having  _ more _ days of yes”. That tells me you’re not committed.”

“You sound like you don’t want this.”

“I don’t want to be heartbroken again. I don’t want to worry about you changing your mind again. You have kind of been wishy-washy about us even though you were pushing to get back together in the first place. It seems like you’re not that interested in being with me sometimes, and other times you are. And I’m still trying to get past what happened before, and it’s hard when I can’t really tell how you feel,” she explained clumsily.

His brow wrinkled. She really couldn’t tell how he felt? A heavy sigh left Ulquiorra. “You know that I love you and I want to be with you, Orihime, but you don’t seem to believe me.”

“I believe that. What I’m not sure about is whether you want to believe _in_ _me_ or whether the next time someone starts a rumor, you’re going to turn tail and run again. We’re celebrities now. Well, you more than me, anyway. People are going to say things about us that aren’t true. What are you going to do when you see my face photoshopped onto some pornstar’s body? It’s already out there. I’ve googled myself enough to know.”

“I will believe you. You have to understand that all I saw was this video Nel showed me. I was hurt and confused because I heard nothing from you… It was third party information.”

“What are you talking about? I called you the night it came out. I begged you to believe me. You  _ chose _ to believe Nel. Again. After everything. You refused to believe in me until I leaked the story to It’s Ran.”

He rubbed his head. “Orihime, I saw the pictures and the video first before I spoke to you. I knew you had no reason to do anything like that, but I still doubted it because for some reason… Nel put that seed into my brain. I thought she was being a friend again. I don’t know why I thought this. I was wrong. She was trying to come between us again. And it hurt us. I can’t change that. If I could, I would. It did not help that I got drunk later that night and just stewed and dwelled on the subject.”

She scoffed. “Nel. Nel. Always fucking Nel. What about if the charges against her are dropped? I mean, I don’t know what she has to do -or what I have to do- for me to take first place in your heart. Because even after you found out about what she was planning before Tier’s party, you were still willing to look at her as a friend, at my expense. To believe her over me. Does she have to succeed at killing somebody? You know what? Just go home. Call me when you get a clue,” she said, disgusted, grabbing her bags and pulling her luggage back to the house.

***

Ulquiorra went to the grocery store when he left Orihime’s. The next day he went to the animal shelter. He played with the dogs. The yappy small ones were cute, but they were so loud.

“Do you have anything bigger?” He asked the shelter employee.

“You want a big dog? That’s rare for a celebrity to want something big.”

“The biggest one you have, please.”

Ulquiorra was taken back to a different part of the complex, and the kennels were filled with German Shepards, Pit Bulls, Huskies, and a lone Malamute. The musician zeroed in on this dog. “That one,” he said, pointing at the huge dog.

“Princess? You want Princess?”

“That big guy is named Princess?” Ulquiorra asked.

The employee frowned. “Princess is a specific type of Malamute; a Giant Malamute. They’re bigger than the normal ones. She’s only a year old and already one-twenty-five. She’s expected to get bigger, Mr. Cifer.”

The dog looked at him with pitiful eyes. Most people probably passed on this huge furry creature because of her size. “Don’t care. I want her.”

Two hours later, he and Princess left the animal shelter. She almost didn’t fit in his car. Shit. During the drive home, Ulquiorra placed a call to his father.

“Hey, son. How’s life as a homeowner?” Jon said.

“It’s fine, I need your help with something. Are you still in California?” There was some shuffling and murmuring. Ulquiorra thought he could hear his mom. “Dad?”

Jon sighed. “Sorry, your mother is trying to get me into a monkey suit for some charity ball later tonight. I don’t want to go.”

“Who is running Cifer Confections and the coffee shop?” Ulquiorra asked, offended that his father was with his mother. “Don’t tell me--”

“Ulquiorra.” It was said in a tone that suggested that the parent had about enough of the child. “I’m going back soon. I’ve been coming out here since your mother got shot to help her. Friday evening to Monday morning. Renji and Shawn have things under control in Ohio.”

Ulquiorra almost snorted. Uh, huh. He was sure his dad was  _ helping _ his mother. “I need a bigger car. I just got a dog and she looks very uncomfortable smooshed into the backseat. I’ve got the money.”

Again there was mumbling. “You got a dog? I have a warm blooded furry grandchild? Oh, that reminds me.”

“Which plant died?”

“Vega. Orchids are hard to take care of, Ulq. I’m sorry. Strife is still alive. I’ve shaped him up.”

This news saddened him. Ulquiorra nodded. It seemed appropriate that he was getting this news in light of the thing with Orihime happening. “Well, can you help me? ”

***

Orihime was just sick of things. She washed her clothes and repacked for the second leg of her tour. She called Ichigo and complained about everything that had happened with Ulquiorra. Ichigo was almost as infuriating, refusing to take a position.

She was numb, otherwise. Static. She had work to focus on; she couldn’t afford to fall to pieces. She left on Friday morning for Portland without saying goodbye to anyone. She didn’t have anybody to say goodbye to.

The Portland and Seattle shows were fine. She spent lots of time after her shows shaking hands and taking pictures with fans. After she posted the selfie from the San Francisco show on her Instagram, a lot more people showed up to meet her. 

On Sunday, she took a flight back to LA and let Barrett shuttle her to the venue. She did sound check and then went to the green room to rest before the concert. She was feeling a sense of dread. After this show, she would have to deal with her personal life. 

She didn’t want to. As long as she was performing, she could push it to the back of her mind. Without that distraction, she was afraid she would fall apart.

***

He got an SUV, which was parked next to the Acura in the garage. His dad helped him buy it by negotiating with the salesman, although Ulquiorra plunked down the cash for the used Honda Pilot. The green-eyed man never could understand why people just drove around these cars for a year before getting new ones. He still paid a pretty penny for the car, but Princess seemed happier. 

  
  
Having the big ball of fluff around was a good thing. She was potty-trained. She didn’t bark a lot. The only thing she did that annoyed Ulquiorra was leave fur balls everywhere. He had to brush her every day. She also jumped into the pool uninvited and shook water everywhere.

They were out in the yard when Ulquiorra decided to take a picture of himself and the dog, who had her tongue flopped out to the side. He didn’t smile. He just looked blank. He uploaded it to Instagram, tagging it with things like first pet, giant dog, Obscuras IV and finally Princess.

He wasn’t as lonely with the dog around, but Ulquiorra still missed Orihime. It seemed like nothing he did made her leave his mind, as much as he wanted to forget her. 

***

Orihime saw Ulquiorra’s dog Instagram post about an hour and a half before she was set to take the stage. She saw the hashtags and it felt like her world imploded. He got a dog and didn’t even tell her. There it was in full color. Orihime was no longer worth his time. He was moving on with life without her. First the house, now the dog. Next it would be a wife and a kid or two. She had no place in this world he was creating for himself.

As fast as she could, she pushed those feelings aside. She had a job to do. She couldn’t do it and fall apart at the same time. She unfollowed and blocked his social media accounts and blocked his number. Clearly this thing between them had only been slowly deteriorating since the beginning. Ulquiorra Cifer didn’t know what love was if he truly ever thought he loved her. 

The only way she would survive this shattering disappointment would be to quit him cold turkey. There would be no languishing around and waiting for him to contact her, or apologize, or drunk dial her and tell her how much he missed her this time. She had been a fool for him over and over. She was done.

So by the time she was in costume and made up and the theater was filled, she took to the darkened stage and sat at the piano. Before she started to sing, she spoke into the microphone.

“The first time I performed this song to put up online, I had been abandoned by the person nearest to my heart. Tonight, I’m feeling the same sense of emptiness I did that night. Maybe you all can sing along and we can push through the darkness together.” She then started to play and sing her heart out to Disarm. She gave her all for the entire show.

After the show was over, she refused to do any meet and greets. She was barely holding on. “Just take me back to the office, Barrett. My car is there.”

***

Ulquiorra called Nanao. “Did you block Orihime?”

“What?”

“I’m trying to see her account on Instagram. I know I followed her, but I can’t find her account and I can’t see her stuff. Anywhere I could have her on social media, nothing. So I was wondering if you--”

“Ulquiorra, I would never block her. You told me never to block her. If you can’t find her on social media, then maybe you’re the one who got blocked. Have you tried calling her?”

“No. Why would I do that? We’re not exactly speaking at the moment.” He stared at the dog who was sitting on the wooden floor across from him in the living room. “She says I’m not committed or something to our relationship. I don’t believe in her or--”

Nanao sighed. “To be honest, had you pulled that shit on me, I would have blocked your ass a long time ago.”

***

Barrett had been acting weird the entire drive back to the office. He wasn’t normally very conversational, but this time when Orihime asked him questions, he just grunted or ignored her. She was very put off. He seemed distracted as he took her stuff out of the sedan and helped her load it into the Range Rover.

“See you around, Ms. Inoue,” the security guard said as he made quick steps back to the driver’s seat of the sedan, then sped out of the parking lot.

Orihime watched him in shock. It was such odd behavior. Why would he peal out of there like that? Did he have somewhere to be? Orihime shook her head and turned back to her car. In her distraction, she dropped her keys. She bent over to pick them up, and as she returned to standing, she was slammed into the side of the vehicle.

She tried to turn to see what had pushed her, but she was restrained against the side by a heavy weight. Had she been hit by a car? Was she pinned between two vehicles?

Then she felt hot breath on her ear. “Hello, Miss Inoue. Did you miss me?”

Orihime knew that voice. It couldn’t be. He had gone back to Columbus. “You?”

“Yes, my dear. It’s me. You know, you could have just been a good girl and gone along with it like all the others. But no, you had to be some kind of feminist diva. And well done, you. An album. A successful mini tour. I’ve heard your single and seen your music video. Flawless. And your live shows; I’ve attended them all. I’ve noticed you haven’t had company at any of them.”

He wasn’t wrong. Ulquiorra hadn’t bothered to even come to the Los Angeles shows. She knew he was busy for the first one, but he probably could have made it work at least for the second half. Obviously he was too busy with his new dog to see her today. Tears started to stream down her cheeks as she realized that whatever Aizen had in store for her, it probably didn’t matter. She was ruined as a person. It didn’t--

_ Crack. _

Orihime screamed. A throbbing pain lanced through her left arm, starting from the elbow and radiating up and down from where he had twisted it to the point of snapping. It was excruciating.

“Be quiet, you filthy whore. This is your last chance to cooperate,” he snarled, and the hand that had yanked her arm wrapped around her throat and started to squeeze. His right hand found her waistband and started to pull while one of his feet started pushing her legs together. 

Her vision began to swim as her jeans cleared her hips. The hand on her throat started pulling her head down. He was going to take her from behind. He let go of her neck to unfasten his trousers as her vision started to go black.

The release of pressure on her throat enabled Orihime to take a painful, ragged, deep breath. Her vision began to clear and her instincts took over. She spun around and clawed at the much taller man’s eyes, taking him by surprise.

  
The man roared and grabbed at her arms, throwing her face-down toward the ground. Orihime grunted as she tried to push herself back up, then hit her chin on the pavement as her legs were yanked up by the ankles.

“Ungrateful bitch!” Aizen growled as he flipped her onto her back. With an open palm, he struck her hard across the face and started tugging on her pants again. If he was going to take her on her back, he would need to pull them further down toward her knees.

Orihime struggled, kicking and screaming voicelessly through crushed vocal chords. Her hands clawed the ground, her palms scraping against the pavement, as she tried in vain to back away. She pleaded with him silently as he loomed over her, spitting into his hand and bringing it to her body. This was going to happen. There was nothing she could do.

Then, she saw her keys right next to her. She grabbed them and hit the panic button.

“Shit!” Aizen spat, sitting back and looking around. A car’s headlights could be seen coming down the ramp from the level above in the parking structure. If the driver was curious about the car alarm, he’d be spotted. 

“Don’t move, I’ll be back,” he hissed at her, then stood and pulled up his pants before stomping on her ankle and slinking away. She heard him open and close a car door, then reverse quickly. A squeal of tires later and he was gone.

Fuck. 

Oh my god.

Orihime stared at the dark ceiling above her for two seconds before she tried to get up. She tried pulling up her jeans, but it was difficult with only one functioning, scraped-up hand. Her left arm did not want to cooperate.

With her right hand she groped around for her purse. She spotted it lying halfway under the car and reached for it, taking out her phone. She called for help. In her panic, she was not thinking clearly. She called Rukia. There was no answer. She hated the thought of her godfather having to deal with her in this state, but she didn’t know who else to turn to. She tried his number next. No answer. Maybe she should try the landline.

Kisuke wasn’t answering. Yoruichi wasn’t answering. Where the hell were they? Shit, that’s right, they were in Atlanta for the next two weeks. 

Shit. She couldn’t drive like this, she thought as she hissed, having tested out her rapidly swelling right ankle. There was no way she’d be able to put weight on it. Her hands were scraped raw from scrambling against the concrete ground of the parking garage, and her left arm was useless.

The severity of her situation was starting to bear down on her. This was bad. She didn’t need some stranger finding her like this! What if some creep decided to take advantage of the situation? What if they called the cops? She didn't have the strength to face another scandal, but she didn’t have time to sit and figure out her next move. What if Aizen decided to risk circling back to try again like he threatened? She needed help.

She had no friends in this town.

Then it came to her. 

Bile rose into her throat as she considered the unwelcome idea. She swallowed it down. She didn’t have a choice.


	4. S/He Hates Me

She unblocked his number and pressed the call button. Silence greeted her after two and a half rings.

She didn’t recognize her own gravely voice when it scratched out, “Ulquiorra?”

A sharp breath and another pause followed, then a woman’s voice spoke. “Can I tell him who’s calling?”

Orihime coughed before replying, “Tell him it’s Vega.”

The assistant turned to Ulquiorra. “I don't know why you can’t answer your own phone, but it’s Orihime.”

Ulquiorra was slumped into the corner of the couch with Princess’ head in his lap. “What?”

“She said it’s Vega--”

“Hello?” Ulquiorra asked, grabbing the phone from Nanao. “I tried calling you earlier, but you--”

“Please,” she wheezed. “Help me…” She tried to take a breath, but her fight response from her altercation was starting to wear off, and the reality of what she had just survived was starting to dawn on her awareness. She needed to slow down. She was starting to hyperventilate.

His face took on a worried expression. “Orihime? What’s wrong? Where are you?”

“Aizen… Soul Society… Parking garage… Third Floo--” she coughed and took a strained, painful breath. “Hurry, please.” Another cough. “He said he’s coming back.”

***

He was driving like a madman. Nanao was in the seat next to him. Princess was in the backseat. He told his assistant what was going on. As soon as he jumped up from the couch, the big dog thought there was some excitement, so she had to come too.

It didn’t take him long, speeding down the highway and taking side streets on a Sunday night, to arrive at the Soul Society building. Nanao handed Ulquiorra a card for the parking garage.

“What’s this?”

“You need a card to access the garage. My uncle works here. He’s one of the top guys.” She didn’t bother explaining further.

“How high up?”

“The CEO.”

“And you work for the competition?” Ulquiorra asked as he swiped the card. The light turned green on the box and the gate raised.

Nanao shrugged as he pulled in and slowly started going up to the third level. “I didn’t want to have people think that I used him to get a leg up in this industry.”

Orihime heard a car approaching and started to cry. There wasn’t much she could do as she lay on the ground with her pants around her thighs, exposed to anyone who might pass by. She wasn’t religious, but she started praying to whatever powers that be that the car did not belong to Aizen. She didn’t recognize it when it came into view, and started to panic, attempting to scoot back. She didn’t get far.

Ulquiorra used his phone and called the redhead. “Where are you? I’m on the third level but I don’t see anyone,” he said.

Her voice dripped with terror when she answered. “There is some big SUV like two cars away from me with a driver in it. Oh god, please hurry, it could be him,” she pleaded.

The driver-side door opened while Ulquiorra stayed on the line with Orihime. He had to calm the dog down before he let her out of the backseat. It didn’t take Princess long before she let out a low “boof”.

“A dog?” Orihime whispered, still on the phone.

Using the flashlight feature on his phone, Ulquiorra walked towards the dog. He stopped and swung it to where Princess was looking. Fuck. It looked like Orihime had been mauled. Clothes were torn. She had been crying. Her face was messed up; the swollen eye and bloody chin were disturbing. Her jeans were barely covering her knees. He pressed the end call button and turned off the light. “Down, Princess,” he commanded. “Nan! Come get Princess and put her back!” 

He crouched down and looked at Orihime. He wanted to ask questions. He wanted to scream in rage that someone would do this to her. He wanted to strangle Aizen with his own hands! “You should have called the police,” he said in a flat voice. Ulquiorra had to remain calm and collected. Orihime did not need him to be frantic.

Oh. She closed her eyes and turned her head to the side. Of course she should have called the police and not bothered Ulquiorra. This wasn’t his problem. He didn’t want it to be his problem. She was an idiot. “I’m sorry. I can call them,” she whispered.

“Absolutely not. We’re going to take you to the hospital. You look--I’m here for you as a friend.” He couldn’t get the words out properly. “Can you stand up? Do you need help?”

She started to cry again. “No. I can’t even pull my pants up,” she admitted, completely humiliated. She covered her eyes gingerly with her right forearm and started to sob, the frayed sound making her seem more pitiable.

Fuck. This wasn’t supposed to happen. “Can I help you? Would you let me? I have Nanao here. She can, if you feel more comfortable with that.”

Orihime nodded. She didn’t really care who helped her. She just didn’t want her vag hanging out anymore.

“Nan! I need your help,” Ulquiorra said to where his assistant was standing by the back of the car. When she reached the two, he motioned towards Orihime. “I’m going to help her stand. Can you help her get decent? Then we’re going to the hospital. I think Good Sam is close by, or we could take her to USC Medical Center.”

Ulquiorra approached Orihime slowly so as not to startle her. He picked her up by the waist from behind and Nanao helped pull the woman’s pants up, but she didn’t fasten them. “I’m going to carry you, okay?”

“No, I ca--” she brought down weight onto her crushed ankle and rasped out a screech. “Ahh, hah, hah,’ she hissed. She still could not make a lot of vocal sounds, whimpering silently as the pain subsided somewhat.

“You don’t get a say in this, Orihime. This is serious and we need to act fast,” he replied, scooping her into his arms. Nanao had already gotten to the SUV and had the front passenger side door open. 

“Orihime,” Nanao asked. “Do you want me to get your car? I assume it’s around here, isn’t it?”

“I was lying right next to it. If you can just get my keys and purse off the ground… I don’t know if it’s a crime scene now or what. Shit. I probably fucked up Kisuke’s car,” she mumbled, recalling the first blow from Aizen.

The male looked at Nanao who was decidedly not looking at him. “Have you talked to your uncle?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“Someone is pulling the footage and they’re calling the police. I have to text him when we know which hospital we’re going to,” Nanao stated. 

Gently, Ulquiorra put Orihime into the passenger seat and buckled her into it. “You okay?” he asked Orihime, looking at her face.

She shook her head. Her left arm was cradled on her chest and the right forearm came back to cover her eyes. She didn’t want to see how he must be looking at her. From his tone, she could guess he maybe felt pity. He probably judged her. He probably thought she had brought this on herself. He probably thought she wanted it or somehow deserved it for not standing up for herself like he thought she should have at her concert class. “No,” she whispered in response.

“We’ll be at the hospital soon. They’re going to help you. I’m going to be right by your side,” Ulquiorra said before he closed the door. He couldn’t help feel more anger. It was directed at that bastard. Orihime looked pitiful, though. 

“You want me to sit in back with that hairball?”

Ulquiorra gave his assistant a dirty look before he went to the driver’s side of his car.

  
  
***

There was a female police officer waiting when they arrived at the emergency room. Orihime explained that she didn’t need a rape kit, but the officer was thorough in her questioning. It took hours to ask her questions and to take pictures of all of Orihime’s injuries, all before any treatment could commence. Orihime explained that she had scratched her attacker’s face. The officer had scraped epithelial cells from under her fingernails. She swabbed the skin that had been exposed during the attack. They took all of her clothing as evidence.

Finally, a doctor and a nurse came to treat her. Her hands needed to be cleaned and wrapped. Her left elbow had been dislocated and needed to be reset. A cold compress was put next to her left eye and the scrape on her chin was cleaned out and bandaged. There was bruising and swelling around her neck. Her ankle was the worst off; there was a hairline fracture and it needed to be set in a boot. By the time the doctor and nurses were done treating her, she was nearly wrapped like a mummy, as near as she could tell. They gave her some pain killers and got her up to a hospital room, then asked if there was any family or emergency contact they could list for her.

She told them she had no family. She told them that the only people she knew that well were out of town for the next couple of weeks.

“Well, I’m sorry, Ms. Inoue, but when you are released you’ll want to have to have someone take you home. You’ll need someone to bring you a change of clothing. Isn’t there anyone else? A boss? A neighbor?”

Orihime sighed. She had already inconvenienced Ulquiorra once tonight, what difference would another time make? Reluctantly, she put his name on the list and gave the nurse his contact information.

It was mid-morning when they called him. He was ready. He’d sent Nanao back to his place to take Princess back home. He told her to grab a t-shirt and stop somewhere and buy some pajama pants or sweats. She’d be back, but it would take another hour before she was to return. Ulquiorra asked the nurse, “Can I come up to her room? Is she okay for visitors?”

The woman on the phone said it would be fine, but not to upset her.

When he entered the room, Ulquiorra looked at Orihime laying in the bed with a flash of a frown on his face. He had to carefully sculpt his face into a passive expression as he walked further into the room. Anger swirled inside of him. He was seeing red. Rage. He wanted to murder Aizen for what he had done to the love of his life; to his woman. She was his, and how dare that bastard touch her! He curled his fist into a ball and squeezed before releasing it.

She had been given something for the pain, something for the swelling, and something for her nerves. She was not exactly in a happy place, but it felt like she was disembodied. She didn’t notice Ulquiorra come into the room at first. When she did, her eyes took in his expression and looked away. “I’m sorry,” was all she said.

“Why are you sorry? Don’t apologize for this.” He was confused as to why she would even say sorry. He didn’t understand. The anger lessened, but still bubbled under his blank expression.

“I shouldn’t have bothered you with this. Now they’re asking you to help me more. It’s not your responsibility,” she replied. Her voice sounded as hollow and disengaged as she felt.

She didn’t want him to help? Ulquiorra promised her that he would be there for her. It didn’t matter if they were together or not. They were friends before lovers. “I guess. No one else is around, so I guess I have to help you with this, don’t I?” He didn’t mean to snap at her. The anger was getting to him.

She heard the chill in his voice. He didn’t want to be here. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “Hopefully they’ll let me go soon.” Then a thought occurred to her. What if Ulquiorra took her back home and Aizen came there? She would be all alone in that big house. No one would hear her scream, even if she could with the state of her throat. Her breathing started to become erratic and her vitals monitor started going nuts.

“Stop. They’ll make me leave if you get upset. Calm down and take a deep breath,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if they let you go soon. You’re coming back with me. Someone has to take care of you.”

Slowly, her heart rate and breathing returned to normal. Orihime looked at Ulquiorra. She didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t wrong; there was no way she could manage on her own, at least not at first. But why was he offering? Some leftover guilt, probably. Maybe pity. She was in no position to protest, though. He was literally her only hope at the moment.

About an hour later, a doctor came in and explained to Ulquiorra what kind of injuries Orihime had sustained and what would be required to provide treatment at home. Mostly it was just pain management, bandage changing, and special instructions for keeping her boot dry. There was a wheelchair they would let her rent until her elbow was healed enough to use crutches. Then he asked Ulquiorra to come out into the hallway with him. As soon as Orihime’s room door was closed, the doctor said, “Also, Mr. Cifer, until the suspect has been apprehended, please do not leave her alone. If you have somewhere to go and can’t have anyone else take care of her, bring her to the police station to wait.”

“Was she raped?” Ulquiorra asked. He needed to find out so that he could treat this situation accordingly. “Can you tell me that?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t. You’ll have to ask her. Having her talk about what happened might be good for her. Just give her time to feel safe to talk though, alright? Don’t push too hard.”

That made his stomach sink. It just gave him confirmation that something traumatic had happened to Orihime. Fuck. Dammit. Motherfucker! Ulquiorra almost lost it there. He wanted to break things. When he got his hands on Aizen--Ulquiorra had to take a deep breath to try and contain his anger. “She’ll be with me for the foreseeable future and I will take your advice seriously. She won’t be left alone.”

“Alright. Then I’ll go in and talk to her and have her sign her discharge papers. I can have a nurse wheel her out or you can do it; it’s up to you.”

“I can do it. I have my assistant coming with clothes for her. She should be here shortly.” With that, Ulquiorra went down to the lobby of the hospital to wait for Nan. She showed up about ten minutes later. He took the shopping bag from her and returned to Orihime’s room. He knocked first before opening the door. “I’m coming in,” he said.

A police officer opened the door. “Oh, good. It’s you. I recognize you from the internet. Anyway, I wanted to give you my card. If she remembers anything else or if you see anyone suspicious, don’t hesitate to call. I gave her one, too, but she isn’t exactly in the right state of mind to take instructions at the moment. Can you do that for me, Sir?”

“You might want to talk to the good folks down at Soul Society… you know, the music label? There might be footage of the attack. There were cameras in the parking garage,” Ulquiorra replied as he took the card from the officer, ignoring her statement about knowing him from the internet. Right now he didn’t care if people knew he was famous. All he cared about was Orihime.

The officer nodded and left the room, allowing Orihime an unobstructed view of Ulquiorra. “What’s that?” Orihime asked when she saw the bag in Ulquiorra’s hand.

Ulquiorra looked in the bag before he took the items out. It was an Obscuras IV t-shirt with a huge 4 on the back and a pair of unicorn pajama pants. Nanao couldn’t have picked her out anything different. “Your clothes,” he said. “I don’t know what size underwear you wear, or bra. I should know that because... but… When you feel up to it, we can go shopping for your basic clothing needs. Right now this is sufficient to wear from here to Malibu.”

Orihime nodded. She was pretty sure she could get into the shirt on her own, but she might need help with the rest. “Um, I hate to ask, but could I ask you to help me get the bottoms up to my knees? I think I can take it from there.”

“Tch,” he scoffed softly. “You act like I’ve never seen you naked. If you need help, I will help you, Vega. We’re not strangers.”

She closed her eyes. He didn’t get it. He didn’t understand how much it hurt having him help her, knowing that once Aizen was rounded up and Kisuke and Yoruichi and Rukia came back, they’d go back to how they were; strangers, more or less. She knew she couldn’t say this to him. He was doing her a favor. She couldn’t burden him with her feelings about it. She couldn’t stop a few tears from rolling down her cheeks, though. “Thanks,” she whispered.

He was busying himself with taking off the hospital gown, so he didn’t answer. He put the t-shirt over her head then helped her put her arms through. “It’s fine. You’re going to pull through this. Aizen will go down. I’m going to follow up with Nan and the police in a few days.”

“Okay,” she said, swinging her uninjured leg over the side of the bed before carefully bringing the leg in the boot over to join it. “So, um, do you have a bedroom on the first floor? Because otherwise I can just lie on a couch or something, but I can’t take any stairs.” She had remembered that his bedroom was in the basement level.

“There are two bedrooms on the first floor. There’s a bathroom between them. Nanao is going to stay with you after we get there so I can get you some curtains and sheets for the bed in whichever room you decide to take. One is smaller than the other but has a balcony. The other room has doors that lead to the yard.”

The idea that a room had direct, walkable access to the outside frightened her. “I’ll take the smaller one,” she said quickly.

***

When they pulled through the wooden gate, Ulquiorra didn’t park in the garage. He pulled up to the front door and carried Orihime through it

Princess, of course, was happy to see her owner and almost knocked them down. “Um, this is Princess. She’s a good dog. A bit--She doesn’t know she’s huge and thinks she’s a lap dog. No concept of personal space. Um, Did you want to sit in the living room or lay down?”

She knew the bedroom wasn’t ready. “The living room is fine. And I recognize her from Instagram,” Orihime responded quietly.

He gave a nod then turned right and walked into the living room. It was one of those open concept rooms; the living room, dining room and kitchen were all connected. Ulquiorra liked his house and hoped Orihime liked it too, but he had not wanted her to see it this way. “Any color preference for bedding? Do you need anything while I run to the store?”

Before she recognized the feeling, a jolt of panic ran through her and she grabbed Ulquiorra’s arm. She took a couple of rushed breaths before she let go. “Sorry, that’s right, Nanao is going to be here. Sorry. Um, I like white or gray? Anything is fine as long as it’s not too bright, but whatever you think looks good in the room is fine with me.” 

She looked around the living room for a moment and noticed that it still looked almost identical to the real estate listing; the furniture and decorations were the same. It looked well put together, but not very personal. Maybe that’s what he liked. His bedroom at Jon’s house had been similar that way. “Your house is very nice, Ulquiorra,” she commented after taking it all in.

He looked at her as he made her comfortable on the couch. “It’s just a house,” he said. “I bought it with all the furniture in it but no bedding or small decorations. Nothing personal. Come to find out, I don’t have a lot of stuff, myself. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

He straightened his body and looked at the dog. Princess was waiting to inspect this new person. “Stay off the couch, Prin.”

“She listens to you pretty well. When did you get her?”

“The day after you told me to get lost,” he said. Ulquiorra sighed as he walked back into the hall. Nanao was in the other guest room, moving things to the smaller room. She had anticipated that Orihime would have taken the bigger room. “Nan! I’m heading out.”

“Okay, but we have a problem.” His assistant came up and said the words quietly to him.

“What now?”

“The other room is wall to wall bed. She’s going to have to go into the other room. The wheelchair won’t fit in the room with the balcony.”

Of course. He huffed. “I’ll get some locks and some other things for the door. They’ll just be windows. Should I buy a drill while I’m at it? I don’t have any tools here.”

Being the efficient person that she was, Nanao shook her head. “I’ve already got some guys on their way to install a deadbolt, a slide lock and a chain on the door. Don’t worry about it. You go get the stuff, and I’m going to keep Orihime company.”

“Shouldn’t I tell her about the room change?”

“I can do it.”

***

After Ulquiorra left, Nanao walked down the hall to the living room. She didn’t enter through the wide entrance, but went through the kitchen. “Do you want something to drink? Eat? No, Prinny, not you. I was talking to Orihime.”

As soon as anyone said eat or drink, the big dog started getting excited.

Orihime looked up to the assistant with a troubled expression. “If you don’t mind, I’d like some water and maybe something bland. I’m afraid of getting sick. I’m sorry to put you through this, Nanao.”

“You’re fine, and you’re not putting me through this. It is my job to help Ulquiorra,” she said as she got the redhead a bottle of water and some rice crackers. The assistant also got Orihime some plain yogurt with a bit of honey drizzled on it. She brought it over on a tray. “Here’s the remote. You can watch anything. Ulq has all the streaming services. I can get you a game controller...” She didn’t really know the redhead that well. “If you just want me to stay silent I can, or we can talk.” 

“We can talk. I don’t have anyone else, and he hates me. I don’t know what to do. What happens now?”

Nanao let out a short laugh. “He hates you? Why do you think he hates you?”

“Maybe hate is the wrong word. Dislikes. Can’t be bothered. But also can be. I don’t know, but he is not pleased with me. I mean, the last time we talked before this, we talked about getting back together and adopting a dog together. Bear in mind this is all within hours of finding out that the person who attacked me last night had been stalking me. Anyway, he seems to think I’ve had enough time to get over everything and…” 

Her mind was unable to track what she wanted to say, and she sighed. “Anyway it feels like everything is one-sided. It’s about his feelings only. I was upset because he told me he listened to that psycho Nel about the Byakuya Kuchiki video instead of believing me. He had the audacity to tell me it was because he believed she was doing it as a friend. After everything that bitch has lied to him about, he still chose her over me. And then he gets all pissy when I didn’t just say, “Oh, poor Ulquiorra. You were misled and took it out on me.” What about my suffering?! And then he waits one fucking day to get a dog… it was a slap in the face. I mean, if he’s over me, fine. Whatever. I’ll go away. But this is bullshit. And he wants to go back to being friends? I don’t know what alternate universe he lives in, but in mine you don’t hurt someone over and over and go back to being friends like removal of the romantic provision resets all the wrongs. I wouldn’t be friends with someone who doesn’t believe in me either. I’m sorry I’m dumping on you but I feel like I’m drowning in this alone.” Orihime stopped finally and took a deep breath, waiting for Nanao to roll her eyes or something.

Nanao sat down on the armchair that was placed across from the couch. “He doesn’t hate you. He talks about you all the time. He constantly asks what you’re doing; have you commented; have you posted anything new. I kept telling him it wasn’t his business. Nel bought an Ultimate VIP Package. She had the opportunity to speak with Ulquiorra for about ten minutes. I think he felt snubbed that the photos came to him. Like, why would anyone show him that stuff? I think he was hurt because Nel showed him that video. When all that went down between him and Nel… I think someone was trying to turn the tables on Ulquiorra...” The other woman trailed off, not knowing how much to say. “Ulquiorra has been wanting to get an animal to keep him company out here. He brought her back and then bought the SUV. She mowed me over when I walked into the door the first day. I asked him why he didn't get something smaller than a furry rhino, and he said that Princess reminded him of you. He said something about you and Malamutes. He said the name was perfect because your name meant princess of baskets or something. He thinks you hate him. He thinks you hate him, and all he wants is to be friends with you if you can’t be lovers… Those are his words, not mine.”

“What do you mean, “all that went down between him and Nel”? Did something else happen that I don’t know about?”

“No, the party video is what I’m talking about. Someone was trying to make him feel like you felt.” Nanao bit her lip then shrugged. “Mere speculation. They probably knew Ulquiorra is jealous when it comes to you.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Nel or Nemu would have had the motivation to try to get between us, but I doubt very much that anyone would care to get vengeance for me.”

“Think about it. Nel knew how Ulquiorra is. Nemu saw what happened when you posted those videos with Hisagi. When it comes to you, he’s insanely jealous, Orihime. He loves you. If he thought you betrayed him...” Nanao paused. “He felt like a fool, and when he finally got his head out of his ass, you wanted nothing to do with him. I understand this.”

Orihime shook her head and looked out the window. “It’s not that I wanted nothing to do with him, I just…” she sighed heavily. “I mean, how do I believe he loves me when he doesn’t trust me? He never has. I don’t know. And by the way, about last week, I only told him to get his head out of his ass. If he did that, he’d know that friends is not an option for us.”

“Sounds like you’re not willing to compromise, which sucks, because he’s head over heels in love with you. Women and teenage girls would flirt with him while on tour. Ulquiorra didn’t pay attention to them, even after the Kuchiki thing. He kept pretending he wasn’t interested in what you were doing, but he cared. He still cares. Maybe this is for the best,” Nanao said with a straight face.

“What is it, exactly, that I’m supposed to compromise on? From my perspective, I have been more or less a doormat to his whims. I’ve been the one to never cheat and I still had to do the work to clear my name. He was pissed off at _me_ that I dared question his infidelity. Like I should just take it in stride and he should not have to make amends. I believed him when he said that video with Nemu wasn’t accurate. What am I supposed to do? Completely give up any sense of self respect I have left?”

She paused and took a deep breath. “I guess that’s neither here nor there, now, is it?” she asked, gesturing at her bandages.

“He’s gotten his head straight since then, Orihime. He talks to, sees, or calls his therapist at least once a week. They’ve gotten through the shit with Nel. Ulquiorra understood he was wrong then, but you need to hear this from his mouth, not mine. He wants to be with you again. He has a bunch of songs he’s recorded for you. Ulq… As soon as you called, he was rushing into action. I’m not saying you should forgive him, but give him a chance.”

The singer looked at Nanao completely confused. “He has a chance. I told him to call me when he gets a clue. I’m waiting.”

“If you wait for him, you may never get that call. You see, Orihime, Ulquiorra thinks he’s not good enough for you. I don’t know if that’s changed in the last twelve hours, but he thinks he is absolute garbage and you deserve someone who has never done you wrong. Do you know why he questioned the Kuchiki thing?” Nanao waited and when the redhead shook her head, she continued. “He was warned there were a lot of vultures in this business. He was warned that people would take advantage. He remembered Nemu. So he figured you had to do what you had to do to get ahead.”

Orihime scoffed. She was offended, deeply. “He should know me better than that. I’d rather do it on my own. I gave up my inheritance to be free of vultures. LA can fuck itself.” The idea that he thought so little of her integrity made her feel sick.

Nanao’s mouth formed a thin line. “You’re in the wrong business if you think you can be free of vultures and parasites. Sometime soon, probably this week, my uncle will be coming to talk to you.”

“Like I told him before, it’s not about the business for me. I’m only here because he’s here. I’d never sleep around to get ahead. I’d be perfectly happy singing coffee houses in BFE. I don’t need all this,” she sighed, then took a deep breath. “What’s your uncle coming for?” 

Nanao shrugged. “He’s the CEO of Soul Society. I imagine he’ll want to talk to you about what is going on.”

“Okay.” She twisted her mouth around. She didn’t want to talk to Nanao about Ulquiorra anymore; the assistant sounded like she’d been drinking the kool aid for too long and wasn’t seeing the big picture, so Orihime changed the subject. She had only focused on him because to remember what happened the night before would send her into a probable mental tailspin. “Be honest, how bad do I look?”

“When we first got to you, total ten out of ten. Now about a seven out of ten.” Nanao smiled and then stood. “Eat and drink. Get some rest. I’m going to let Prin out and then sit in the kitchen and do some work. Let me know if you need anything.”

***

Three and a half hours later, Ulquiorra returned with several bags on his arms. There were more in the car. He figured with Orihime being there, he was going to have to stock up. As soon as he walked into the door, Princess was boofing and wagging her tail, running through the house like some madwoman. “Okay, okay. Dammit, Prin, settle down,” he shouted. “I left you for a couple of hours, not days.”

Nanao came out of the kitchen and grabbed a couple of bags from him. “Looks like an expensive trip.”

“I went to a big box chain store. It was less than five hundred. It’s not like I went to a specialty bedding store or anything. Orihime probably doesn’t even want to be here so...”

Nanao snorted. “You two,” she said.

“What about us?”

His assistant shook her head, obviously declining to comment. 

“Fine. I’m going to get the rest of the bags. Hello, Princess. Get off my foot!”

Nanao walked into the kitchen with the bags and looked over at Orihime. “He’s back.”

Orihime had had some time to think things over. She had calmed down and put things back into perspective since talking with Nanao. Ulquiorra’s and her unresolved issues could go on the back burner for now; Aizen, and working out the particulars of their current arrangement, was more pressing. “I heard. Could you ask him to come talk to me when he has a minute?”

Ulquiorra heard Orihime speaking. Why would she want him to come talk to her? They didn’t really have a lot to say to each other. He sighed and let himself out the front door, the dog following behind him. Of course the animal got in his way and generally made a quick trip outside turn into a five minute ordeal, but when he returned inside he went straight to the kitchen, putting the bags onto the island, and then walked over to Orihime. “You doing okay?”

“Better, I guess. Not great,” she huffed a sad laugh. “I wanted to tell you that I really appreciate what you are doing for me.”

“No worries,” he replied, waving a hand. He knew it hurt Orihime to be around him. “You’d do the same thing for me if something like this happened. Uh, I got you a set of gray sheets and a set of white with gray diamonds on them. I got you a big fluffy blanket, four pillows...”

“Ulquiorra?” The redhead interrupted softly.

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to know what happened?”

He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked at her. Then he shook his head. “I want to know, but I’m going to respect your privacy. I’m sure you’ll talk about it when you’re ready. I don’t want you to force yourself to talk about it.”

She shook her head. “I want to talk about it. I’m afraid that the longer I wait, the fuzzier the details will become. It’s already starting to get blurry in my mind. I want to record what I say. I don’t want to forget. I want to be able to answer your questions.”

***

Nanao used her camera to record video of what Orihime told him. He used his phone to record the audio. Both of the things would be sent to the detective on the case. Ulquiorra stared at Orihime after she was done speaking. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what to do or how to deal with this rage burning into his chest and brain. He maintained his calm exterior though.

She took a moment to close her eyes and digest what she had said before looking at Ulquiorra with a resigned, apologetic expression. “Do you have any questions?”

“You weren’t raped,” he stated. Ulquiorra took a deep breath before exhaling. “Where were your security people? Did you--”

“Ulq!” Nanao was scolding him.

“What? I’m just curious as to why there wasn’t more security.”

Orihime recoiled slightly, then responded, “It’s okay. My personal security guard dropped me off right at my car, loaded my stuff into it, and then drove away quickly. He was the same one who was with me for the entire tour.” She paused before addressing his statement. “I managed to fight just enough to slow him down. The rest was luck and you. So, again, thank you.”

Ulquiorra scoffed. “You don’t have to keep thanking me.”

“Who is this security guard? He should have stayed with you until you were in your vehicle. What’s his name?” Nanao asked.

Orihime watched as Ulquiorra looked away, but after Nanao asked about the security guard, she turned her eyes to her. “I always called him Barrett.”

Nanao went over to the laptop she had set up on the counter and logged into the Soul Society employee database. “There is no Barrett. What did he look like?”

“He’s a tall, bald, black guy. Late thirties or early forties. Big. He has really pale, almost yellow eyes.”

She quickly typed in something to the keyboard. “Um, there was a guy named Zommari who worked for SS. He got fired for roughing up people. Are you sure that’s what he looked like?”

“Do you have a picture?” Orihime asked.

She nodded and turned the computer to face Orihime before clicking on the photo to enlarge it. “Is this the guy?”

“Yeah, that’s Barrett,” she said with a small nod. “Why would Soul Society let someone they fired be my bodyguard?”

Nanao turned the screen back to her and typed in another couple words with quick taps of her fingers. “Orihime. There was no one hired to be your bodyguard...”

“What? How… I don’t understand. How could he have unfettered access to me if he wasn’t hired? Do they think I hired him myself?”

Ulquiorra looked concerned as Nanao kept typing. The woman kept shaking her head. “Nan?”

“No, this is impossible.”

“What’s impossible?” Orihime looked at Nanao, and when the assistant didn’t look up, she looked at Ulquiorra with an imploring stare. 

“Nanao? Can you please explain?”

“Uh, it shows that Aizen accessed the personnel sheet. A Barrett Cloud was added as a bodyguard,” Nanao said. “This means someone hacked into Soul Society’s database. It’s where they keep all artist information, profiles, tour information… It’s all here and if anyone were to access it...”

“Is there some kind of back door or something? Can you terminate access?” Orihime asked, frantically. Despite her tour being over, she was afraid that with the kind of information Nanao said Aizen had access to, it would be no problem for him to track her down.

“I can’t, but my Uncle can. He can have the IT guys do it.” Nanao grabbed her phone and tapped the screen before she stood, leaving the room. 

Ulquiorra turned to Orihime, another frown on his face. “Um, don’t worry. No one can get onto the property.”

Orihime bit her lip and nodded. “Okay,” she said nervously.

“Um, did Nan tell you about the room?”

“No? What about it?”

He sighed. “It’s wall to wall bed and the wheelchair will not fit through the door. We’re going to put you in the bigger room, but someone is coming to put locks in the door. It’ll be a window. I got curtains and blinds to put up.”

A swell of fear bubbled up in Orihime’s throat and she put her hands against it, only to wince in pain. She swallowed and started flicking her thumbnails against her index fingers and biting her lip. She nodded and tried not to panic. It wasn’t easy. Her eyes became wet but she eventually calmed down enough to ask, “Are you handy?”

“I bought a drill. Nan has some guys coming to install the locks. I also got a baby monitor so that you can talk to me from your room if I’m somewhere else in the house. I turn my phone to silent if I’m asleep but--” he sighed. “Orihime, I know this is difficult for you, but just trust me. I’m going to keep you safe.”

Her chest seized and she blinked hard. “I trust you, I’m just useless and scared.”

He shook his head. “You’re not. Just--Aizen will be brought to justice. He will fucking burn for what he did to you. I won’t allow--” Ulquiorra had to calm himself down. The angry edge to his voice was sharp.

Orihime didn’t flinch. The passion in his voice gave her a small boost of courage. She knit her brow and nodded once. There was an urge to touch him, but he was too far away and she couldn’t move. She sighed instead and offered him a small smile. 

“For now all we can do is tolerate each other until this is sorted out.”

The smile faded from her face. “Sure,” she said, turning her head to face the opposite wall. 

He nodded before going to the kitchen island and unpacking what he had bought. He might have gone overboard, but this was mostly all for Orihime. “I, uh, I got you some canned soup for dinner. I figured making some grilled cheese and soup would be good. Comforting. But first, I’m going to get your room ready. Are you okay to be out here by yourself?”

“Yeah, I’ll be okay,” Orihime sighed, looking at the dog laid out on an area rug under a table.

Ulquiorra followed her gaze. “C’mon Prin! Let’s leave Orihime to get some rest.”

All Princess did was lift her head and look at her owner, then at the new person who was sitting on the couch. She laid her head back down.

“Just yell--She may not bother you,” Ulquiorra stated. He’d forgotten that Orihime probably couldn’t yell. She had told them that Aizen had almost strangled her. He turned and went down the hall to what would be Orihime’s room. 

Fifteen minutes later, Nanao buzzed in the locksmiths. They put five different locks on the door so it would be damn near impossible for someone to get it open. Ulquiorra knew he was being over cautious, but it was for Orihime’s sake. About two hours later, he had her curtains up while Nanao had made the bed.

“Do you think she’ll like it?” He asked his assistant.

“Why don’t you ask her?”

“No, she hates me.”


	5. Boof

Orihime sat on the couch in Ulquiorra’s living room for a long time. Nanao had given her the remote control for the television, but she really couldn’t focus on anything. She found some stupid reality program about women shopping for wedding dresses with ridiculous lists of demands. It distracted her for a bit. She let it continue after she was no longer able to pay attention. She was tired. She needed to pee. She didn’t want to make a fuss, though, and every time she closed her eyes, she saw Aizen’s face and felt his breath on her ear.

She was growing increasingly anxious. She looked over at Princess again. She was still sleeping quietly on the rug. She looked so soft. She had a huge, goofy face. She was a big, strong dog. An overpowering sense of longing overtook Orihime, and before she knew what she was doing, she called out quietly, “Princess! Princess, c’mere.”

The dog got to her feet and padded over to where the redhead sat, then waited.

With her right hand, Orihime patted the seat of the couch. “C’mon up, girl. Come up by Hime.”

Princess whined and then looked around. She put her big head on the cushion. She had been trained well.

“You’re not allowed up here? Hmm,” Orihime said, offering her palm out to the huge animal to allow her to sniff it. She gazed down at Princess’ soulful brown eyes and pouted. It wasn’t fair. She wanted to bury her face in her fur and hide from the world.

“Princess! What are you doing? I told you to leave Orihime alone!” Ulquiorra said as he walked into the living room.

Orihime turned her head toward her host and pleaded, “No! I invited her over. She looks so soft… I just wanted to pet her. Sorry,” her lower lip came out and wobbled for a second before she smoothed out her expression. “Sorry, Princess. I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”

The male’s mouth shifted to the side, and Ulquiorra sighed. He forgot to tell Orihime about Princess. “Um, sorry. I didn’t want her to bother you. Princess, up!” Ulquiorra watched as the dog carefully climbed onto the couch and sat on the cushion. “Her previous owners trained her for simple commands. I’ll give you a list of them, because if you say the W word, she goes insane.”

Orihime laughed, then her brows shot up and her good hand covered her mouth. She felt like she had done something taboo. She wasn’t allowed to find happiness today. And yet, here she was, imagining this furry goofball falling all over herself in joy at the prospect of a W-A-L-K. Her troubles had disappeared for a moment. Her eyes shot to Ulquiorra’s for a second to see if he was judging her. 

Before she registered what she saw, she put her arm around Princess’ neck and buried her face in her fur. She had seen Ulquiorra’s smile. She smiled into the dog’s thick coat and inhaled the warm scent. She smelled like she had recently been to the groomers, with a bit of a sweet, pleasant, powdery smell. It was reminiscent of cotton candy, but much softer and not as sugary. “You’re such a good girl,” she said to the animal, scratching her under the ear and keeping her face close.

He let her have a moment of peace before he dragged her out of it. “Your room is ready, if you want to go back.”

Orihime’s nose dove back into the animal’s neck. She took another long sniff and gave Princess a firm hug before she let go. “Okay, we can. Um, I really, um… I have to go,” she said, the pressure in her belly overriding her sense of modesty. 

He raised an eyebrow before he realized what she meant. He moved quickly, picking her up. Ulquiorra was stopped by Princess’ big paw. “What?” he asked the dog, as if it would respond to him with English. “C’mon, if you want to be nosy.”

The dog followed them down the hall, and Ulquiorra had Nanao help Orihime. This was his new life. He had agreed to this. 

Nanao had told him things while they were getting her room ready. Aizen’s contract with any Soul Society company was terminated, and he forfeited any money he was promised. The police were looking for him and keeping an eye on any airports, just in case he decided to run.

The record label had paid Orihime’s hospital bills and put things on hold for her. Ulquiorra was grateful that she had signed with a company that actually cared about their artists.

After Orihime had taken care of her necessity, she really wanted to take a shower. She didn’t dare ask, though. She was going to owe Nanao and Ulquiorra her firstborn, her life savings, and anything else she ever came into possession of. Still, she wanted to wash Aizen off of her somehow.

“Nanao, could I have a washcloth? I just want to wash my face.”

The black-haired woman nodded and rummaged through the cupboard under the sink, trying to find Ulquiorra’s towels and things. There were none in this bathroom. It made sense, since he never had company. She opened the door and stuck her head out, spying Ulquiorra in what he called the game room. It was just another living room to her. “Ulq, I need a couple of towels, hand towels, and washcloths. I hope you--”

Ulquiorra was already handing her things. “This is a bag full of things I think Orihime uses or used to use. I picked everything out mostly by scent.”

Nanao took them and shut the door again. She turned to the sink and filled it with warm water. “Okay, let’s see what Mr. Thoughtful bought. There’s face wash, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash,” she said. She lowered her voice, “Still think he hates you?”

Orihime gave Nanao a self-conscious grimace. “Not  _ hate _ . I don’t know,” she said softly, taking a cloth and dipping it into the water.

“Let me know when you’re done. I’m going to step out and get you some other pajamas.”

“Okay,” she replied. She waited until the door was closed, then carefully peeled the bandages off of her face, gently cleaning the wounds. It stung against her raw skin, and she hissed in pain. Her bandaged hands were already wet, and she unwrapped them, too. It hurt there even worse. She had heard that there were a lot of nerve endings in hands and fingers, and each of them felt on fire as she washed. She gave up after that, panting as she waited for the pain to subside and for Nanao to return with the pajamas.

It was Ulquiorra who knocked on the door. “Orihime? You okay? Do you need me to get Nan?”

“You can come in,” she whined. It hurt. She didn’t care who helped her. “Do you know where the bandages and cream are? It really hurts.”

Ulquiorra came in and saw her face. “It’s been hours since your last dose of medication. Nan, get those bandages and that cream off the--” A hand was shoved through the door with the items. “Thank you.”

Orihime was desperate to make it stop. She held her palms out to Ulquiorra and whimpered, “Please, it’s too intense.”

Gently as he could, Ulquiorra tended to her wounds, drying the cuts and scrapes. He put the numbing cream on them before he wrapped them back up. “Anything else I can help you with? Or do you want Nanao to help you?”

Orihime shook her head. “It can wait until tomorrow… Unless I really stink. I do, don’t I?” Orihime was sure she did. You don’t go through something as stressful as she had without releasing a lot of foul-smelling chemicals.

This was going to be awkward. Ulquiorra leaned close to her and sniffed her before moving to other parts of her body. “You smell like a hospital and that medicine and something else,” he said, taking a step back and looking at her. “Nan--”

Once again the door opened and Nanao’s hand came through with new pajamas for Orihime. He sighed before he took them. “I’ll just set these here and you can get to them. We have the wheelchair outside waiting for you to get in. Tomorrow the shower chair should be here, so you can take one.”

“Thanks,” she said, turning away on one leg. She got her right arm out of the sleeve of the t-shirt she wore before pulling her head out of the top and carefully getting her bum arm out of the left sleeve. Luckily the shirt was quite large and didn’t cause too much of a bother. Her hair was loose behind her and covered most of her back. She put the shirt on the sink counter and balled up another towel so that it wouldn’t wet her bandages, then cleaned under her arms and breasts, then the rest of her chest, then reached for the pajama top. It was just out of her reach. She turned her shoulder slightly. Ulquiorra was still there, facing the door to give her privacy.

“Um, could you pass me the top,” she asked, looking at his face in the mirror but avoiding eye contact.

He nodded and reached for the shirt. Ulquiorra’s face became hot as he glanced at Orihime. He shouldn’t be thinking of her this way. She had just gone through something very traumatic, but still, she was gorgeous. He was glad Aizen hadn’t seriously fucked her up physically. Mentally was another story. “Sorry,” he murmured after the pajama top was in her hand.

“Mmm,” she hummed, shaking her head and dismissing his apology. “I need your help. You don’t need to help me. I’d thank you again, but the last time I did it looked like your eyes might roll out of your skull,” she said with a small chuckle, trying to dispel the awkwardness she felt.

“Orihime, I’m just not used to having people thank me. You know I’m socially dumb, and this is not how I wanted you to see my house. I’m sorry for looking at you like that. You’re still beautiful to me.”

Orihime had gotten her top on and turned around. Ulquiorra was facing the door again. Slowly, she reached a bandaged hand out and put it between his shoulder blades. “I am sorry for the circumstances, but your house is very nice. I’d like to see it after you’ve had a chance to personalize it and make it more your own. But it’s very comfortable, and you’ve done a good job with the curtains in that room,” she said. It seemed like something some people might think was silly at a time like this, but she understood how he felt. She would be disappointed too, if it was her house.

He balled his hands up as he felt her hand. This wasn’t right. She shouldn’t be here, wrapped up in bandages and looking scared out of her mind. He didn’t want her here like this. “Look, if you need me tonight, you can talk to me through the baby monitor. I’m going to start on getting us something to eat, and then turn in early.”

Orihime let her hand fall and took a step back. She had obviously crossed a line. “Sounds like a plan,” she muttered.

After they all ate, Ulquiorra showed Nanao to the downstairs guest room, then he went back upstairs to the first floor and checked on Orihime. “You gonna be okay up here? Do you need anything before I go pass out?”

Orihime pulled the covers up to her chin and shook her head. “I’m okay. I want to say something. You don’t have to say anything. Thank you. Thank you for all of this. I might not be alive if you hadn’t come,” she sniffled. “I’ll never forget this. Goodnight, Ulquiorra.”

He didn’t know what to say. Ulquiorra’s heart felt heavy. “C’mon Prin, let’s go to bed.” When the dog just looked at him and then back at Orihime, he knew it was useless. The dog had taken to his ex-girlfriend. “Thank you for calling me. If something--” he shook his head. “Goodnight, Orihime.”

***

Orihime fell asleep quickly, but she didn’t sleep well for long. About three hours into it, she began to dream. Her dreams were not pleasant. It started with thrashing, then whimpers. The dog nosed her face enough to rouse her and stop the dream. Orihime would quiet down and settle back to sleep, only to start the process again about twenty minutes later. Luckily for the other occupants of the house, her voice was so damaged that she couldn’t scream out loud. Princess did the work of comforting the redhead. 

However, her sleep was so fitful, that come morning, despite having gone to bed early, Orihime was exhausted and slept late. When she woke up around ten in the morning, the pain medication she had taken before bed had completely worn off. Her injuries were throbbing and her throat was swollen. Very carefully, she sat up in bed, croaking out a soft cry when she accidentally put too much weight on her left arm while trying to pull herself towards the wheelchair.

It wasn’t the whimpers or the noises that woke Ulquiorra up, it was Princess bounding on his bed and barking her head off. “What?” he bitched as he sat up. The dog took off for his door and then came back to look at him. Was something wrong? Was Orihime alright? “Orihime?” he said and looked at the screen on the baby monitor he’d bought. It had a video feed. Shit.

Ulquiorra jumped out of bed and raced up the stairs to her room. “What the hell?” he said, looking at her. Princess came in after him and jumped on the bed.

Orihime gestured with her palm facing her throat, moving it up and down, then scratched out in a hissy breath, “Good morning. No voice. Need bathroom and medicine.”

He realized that all he was in was a pair of boxer shorts. “Morning? What time is it?”

She looked at her phone. “Ten,” she mouthed. She was pretty preoccupied with her pain at the moment and paid no attention to his state of undress.

A sigh left him. “C’mon Veggs,” he said, once again carrying her. He left her in the bathroom and went to the kitchen to grab her medication. They would need to pick up the actual prescription later today. Maybe he could send Nanao on that errand. After he got the pills and some water for Orihime, he saw Nanao’s note.

Ulq,

Went to get Orihime’s meds and her stuff out of her car. My uncle said cops were there this morning, and everything has been noted, evidence gathered, and gave the OK for Orihime’s car to be moved. Urahara said to leave the car there and they would get it when they got back.

-Nan

He went back down to the bathroom and knocked. “You okay? Can I come in?”

Shit. She couldn’t answer him. She struggled to make herself decent and flushed the toilet before he gave up and came in anyway. She was grateful that the pajama bottoms were loose, drawstring deals. She pulled them up easily and held them up, then tried to hop to the sink. She was going to need help. She didn’t know what to do. Then she almost could have laughed. She didn’t know Morse Code, but she knew how to tap out SOS. She tried it, using the middle knuckle of her middle finger to tap out the three short raps, followed by three long raps, then another three short raps against the wooden drawer in front of her.

Ulquiorra opened the door and walked in. “Here’s your meds and some water. Nanao went to pick up your prescription and your stuff out of your Range Rover. Urahara said to leave the vehicle there. Police have gone over things and got evidence. They’re looking for Aizen. Do you need help with anything?”

She nodded and curled her lip in embarrassment, holding out the ends of the drawstring. She couldn’t easily tie a knot with her hands all bandaged up. “Please,” she whispered.

Once again Ulquiorra picked her up, but he put her on the counter beside the sink. He gave her the bottle of water which was already open and then her pain meds. He had to swallow down the anger he felt. “You should have waited for me or said something instead of trying to do this yourself,” he said to her in a quiet tone. “I’ll tie your pants, you take that.”

She blew a breath out of flared nostrils. This whole being an invalid thing was inconvenient to say the very least. She did as Ulquiorra said, though, dropping a pill into her mouth and washing it down with water.

He watched her a moment before he tied the waistband, making sure it wasn’t too tight by putting a finger between the waistband and her stomach. “Will you stay here while I get your wheelchair? Do not move.”

She looked into his eyes and nodded. He wasn’t amused, if his tone and expression were anything to go by. She put her hands down to rest on her thighs when he took a step back and waited.

“Don’t look so put out. I’ve not had coffee and I’ve slept for like twelve hours. Give me a minute to wake up before you do the damsel in distress thing. It doesn’t help that Prin jumped on me to wake me up,” Ulquiorra said. Without thinking, he brought a hand up and caressed her cheek.

Shit. He shouldn’t be doing this.

Orihime’s eyes widened and her eyebrows began to follow, until the one on the injured side of her face began to tug over the swollen area, and she hissed sharply, grimacing in pain. “Shit, that hurts,” she whispered, effectively changing the subject.

“Fuck, I am sorry. I--I should have asked. Let me go get your chair and I’ll be right back.” It took no time for him to wheel the chair out into the hallway and leave it there while he got Orihime and put her into it. “Want me to wheel you down to the living room?”

She turned her face to his and nodded, giving him the same small smile she had offered him the night before. She wasn’t upset about him touching her face. She was honestly too preoccupied with her own problems to even really notice, except for that brief moment when it felt like the world stopped and every bad thing that happened between them had gone away. She tried not to think about that, though, and whispered, “Can I have my phone first?”

He took a second to get her phone for her before he pushed her down to the living room. Princess was standing by the door waiting to be let out. Ulquiorra opened the door and watched as the dog ran down the set of stairs that would lead to the yard. He kept his back to Orihime, watching his dog. “Do you want breakfast?”

He couldn’t see her nod. She picked up her phone and tapped out a text.

  * This might be more efficient until the swelling in my throat goes down. And to answer your question, yes, I would love some breakfast, provided it is in a mostly liquid format. This sucks. I hope when Nanao gets back with the meds there is something to reduce inflammation because this no talking thing blows.



She sent it and then began to write another one.

  * Good morning, btw. Thanks for helping and sorry for the stubbornness and getting myself into trouble. I don’t like this being an invalid BS.



Ulquiorra brewed himself a cup of coffee and looked at his phone that was on the counter. He was so tired that he never brought it downstairs. It wasn’t like him to just leave his phone upstairs, but he’d been so out of it last night that he immediately fell asleep as soon as he was comfortable. “Good morning. I can make you a smoothie? I might have some pancakes. I don’t know. I have juice, milk, heavy cream, water and coffee. I could make you a cappuccino, if you’d like.”

She grinned a bit and tapped out a reply.

  * SMOOTHIE!!!!!!!! Capp too? But not super hot, let it sit and cool off or I’mma spill it. TY XD UR the best



“Your spelling leaves something to be desired. But you got it. I’ve got mixed berry or tropical fruit mixes,” he said as he rummaged through the refrigerator.

  * tropical plz 
  * I think u luv the spellz n the lolz. Don’t mind me I’m on drugs.



She put an eye roll emoji at the end of the text.

He chuckled as he made her smoothie in the blender and then the cappuccino with the fancy machine he’d bought when he moved in. He put a straw in the cold drink and took it to her. “For you, one tropical smoothie. Give the capp about ten minutes to cool off.”

After giving her a brief smile, Ulquiorra turned and went back to the kitchen, letting his face drop into an unhappy expression. Those feelings of wanting to be with her were hitting him in the face at full force. She probably would laugh at him if he told her that he wanted to be with her. This was hardly the time to be declaring his feelings anyway. She had been assaulted.

Orihime didn’t really feel like she was fooling anyone. She was, of course, miserable. She was trying to put on a brave, cheerful face to make things easier on Ulquiorra. She took a sip on the smoothie that he made for her out of his groceries and generosity of spirit and felt her heart break. 

  * this is really good. It tastes like sunshine and tiki drinks (what I imagine them to taste like, anyway) it also makes my throat feel better. What do you have planned for today?



“Uh, I’m not sure. I was probably going to go down to the studio, maybe take a dip in the pool. I might take Prin for a walk. Is there something you needed or wanted?”

She saw that he had glanced in her direction and she shook her head, then looked out the window. There wasn’t much she could do in her condition. 

  * maybe somebody can let me outside for awhile when it’s not too hot. There is only so much “Say Yes To The Dress” one can watch before going braindead. 



He chuckled and shook his head as he made his own smoothie and cappuccino. It sounded like the ideal breakfast. “Do I not have enough channels for you to watch that you need to suffer through reality television?” Ulquiorra walked into the living room and sat down on the couch and looked at Orihime with a serious look on his face. “You blocked me.”

She pursed her lips and nodded.

  * I saw your IG post with your dog and thought that was it, you were done and moving on. I knew I wouldn’t be able to start doing that for myself unless I quit you cold turkey. Sorry if it seems rude, but… You have to understand. You have become such a huge part of my life that the idea of you no longer being there is just too much.



She shook her head. Her medicated mental fog dampened her ability to communicate and she knew it, but she couldn’t think straight.

He read her text and frowned as he sipped his drink through a straw. Ulquiorra scoffed. “I remembered you said something about Malamutes. I couldn’t resist when I heard she was named Princess. Plus, look at her,” he said gesturing to the dog standing on the other side of the glass, “she’s a goofy fluff ball.”

Orihime looked at the animal and her guarded expression melted. She turned her soft expression toward Ulquiorra and nodded.

  * you’re right. I think you’ve found your fuzzy soulmate. She is perfect.



“I mean, how the fuck do you figure that I’m moving on because I got a dog? I don’t get it. Make it make sense.”

She furrowed her brows as well as she could and shrugged.

  * IDK. We were talking about adopting one together and getting back together and then everything exploded and the next week you went out and did it on your own. It just felt like you were taking the next step in your life without me. Away from me.



“Well I’m sorry if I went out and got a dog. I’m lonely out here, and since you told me to get lost, I decided to go ahead and get one. Maybe if you hadn’t--” He bit his tongue, not wanting to finish that statement. He couldn’t blame her for what happened. Aizen was a sick bastard. It wasn’t Orihime’s fault.

Ulquiorra had a pattern though, and Orihime had experienced it often enough to guess where he was headed.

  * Maybe if I hadn’t what? I don’t know. Maybe if I hadn’t ever had class with you your life would be so much better? You’d probably be engaged to Nel by now. She’d be on this stupid show I’ve been watching. And I would still be rolling my eyes at how you let her lead you around by the nose. I can’t believe you thought she would do anything for you as a friend during your tour. It’s maddening. I had had it when you told me that. I knew that I could argue with you until I was blue in the face but until you figure it out on your own, I’m spitting into the wind. That’s why I said to call me when you got a clue. I’ve been hitting you over the head with them but they don’t stick.



He didn’t have to listen to this. Ulquiorra stood and took himself into the kitchen, rinsing his glasses out before he left the room and went down to his bedroom. Orihime had some nerve. She had some fucking balls to say that to him. He shook his head as he gathered his dirty laundry and started a load in the washer. He then made his bed and the bed that Nanao had used. 

Needless to say, it was an uncomfortable atmosphere for the rest of the day.

***

Later that afternoon, Orihime had been able to shower and change into an easier-to-wear sundress from her suitcase from her car, with Nanao's assistance. Also, the medication Nanao had given her reduced some of the swelling in her throat. She couldn’t speak loudly, but if someone sat close they could hear her.

“Is your uncle still coming today?” she asked as she was trying to decide whether to go to her room or stay out in the living room.

“He said he’d wait until you could actually talk to speak with you,” Nanao said, staring at the laptop screen. She was trying to figure out when to schedule things for Ulquiorra. “Why is he being a moody bitch today?”

Orihime sighed. “He asked why I blocked him. I answered. He did not care for that. I think I’ll just go to bed now. He doesn’t want me around. With this dress on I’m sure I can hobble to the bathroom on my own.”

“He was rather offended and hurt when I told him that you blocked him,” Nanao said absently. “Do you want me to wheel you down to your room? He was thinking about getting you a TV for in there.”

She shook her head. “Tell him…” she stopped and sighed. This was all so stupid. “I’m not very comfortable staying here when I know he’s angry. I don’t need him spending money on me when this is a short term thing.”

Nanao sighed. “He’s not angry. When he’s angry he breaks things. Ulquiorra wants you to be here.”

“I disagree. I also don’t think he wants  _ me.  _ He wants some perfect, unspoiled version of me. She’s dead, if she ever existed.”

Nanao closed the laptop and put it on the coffee table before she walked over to where Orihime sat. “You two need to really just sit down and talk,” she said. “I’m going back home tonight, so maybe you two can hash things out.”

Orihime didn’t say anything about that. “I just need to lie down.”

Nanao wheeled her into the bedroom and Orihime situated herself. “Thanks Nanao. Have a good night.”

The assistant bid Orihime good night before she went to find Ulquiorra. He was putting clothes on hangers. “I’m leaving. Text or email me if--”

“What? No! You can’t leave, what about--”

“Ulquiorra. You’re going to be fine with her. You two need to talk.”

A couple hours passed and Ulquiorra lay in bed looking at the ceiling. He couldn’t talk to Orihime. He had hurt her too much. They both pointed fingers and placed the blame on the other when it was mostly his fault. A sigh left him. He’d have to deal with this until Urahara came back.

Orihime drifted off and awoke at around eleven that night. With her good arm and foot, she used the wall for support and got herself to the bathroom. She was feeling pretty proud of herself. She took her medicine and looked at herself in the mirror, observing the state of her face. 

It was disturbing. Nanao and Ulquiorra kept asking her about her problems with Ulquiorra, but it was hard for her to focus when in the back of her mind she was constantly reliving what happened with Aizen. 

She dragged herself back to bed, and was exhausted from the exertion. Her medication helped her to fall asleep quickly, and the swelling in her throat felt even better than it had that evening, which would have been great if not for her nightmares that started about two hours after falling asleep. This time when she thrashed around the bed, she screeched and cried and pleaded with the ghost of Aizen, begging him not to touch her.

Ulquiorra had woken up because he thought he heard something outside, but it was the baby monitor. He had turned off the video feature, but still had audio. He could hear Orihime. Fuck. She was probably having flashbacks or something. He went through the same thing after what happened with Nemu. 

With a sigh, he pulled himself out of bed and walked upstairs. Orihime’s door was left open so that Princess could come and go as she pleased. He stood there, watching the redhead move around the bed. Princess whined and looked at him. “I know,” Ulquiorra told the animal in a soft voice. He turned on the light and walked over to the bed, putting his knee on the mattress before grabbing Orihime’s shoulder. He had to speak loudly to get her to wake up. “Vega! Vega, wake up!”

Orihime screamed bloody murder. All of that vocal training went a long way in giving her the shrill power of several car horns. Her eyes snapped opened and scanned the room wildly as her non-splinted arm rose against Ulquiorra. She stopped it before she struck, her eyes stilling on his face and her terror melting into anguish as sob tore through her.

“Shhhhh, it’s okay. You’re safe,” Ulquiorra said, helping her sit up and hugging her. He had no clue what to do in this situation. “Shhhh, you’re safe with me, Orihime.”

Orihime cried like a baby; big gasps followed by long, sputtering wails. “He was going to—” she managed to honk the words out before falling into another round of cries. She let her face fall onto his shoulder and grasped at his back.

She was breaking his heart. What she had gone through with Aizen was a lot worse than what he experienced with Nemu. “But he didn’t. You fought back. Soon he’s going to be in prison for what he did,” he whispered to her, silently adding the word _hopefully_ to the end of his sentence. Ulquiorra hated what she was going through.

“I was so scared,” she howled. “He was gonna— and then he was gonna kill me or hurt me. He said he’s coming back.”

“He will never hurt you!” Ulquiorra told her as he held her. He would never let Aizen lay a finger on Orihime ever again. His arms tightened their hold on her. “You are safe with me. He’s not here. He’s going to get caught and he’s going to pay for touching you again.”

“How can you be sure? How do you know?”

“Because I’ll make sure he does. I will make sure there is justice for you. Until Urahara has some security for you and some help, I’m not going to let you go. They need to be held accountable for what happened. Like you said, you could have died, and where the hell were they?” Ulquiorra took a deep breath, trying to calm himself and to stop the rant he was on. She didn’t deserve this. “Calm down, okay? Just breathe. Do you need more medication?”

She tried to take his advice and breathe. She managed about three breaths before her face crumpled and she started that babyish crying again. It vaguely occurred to her that she wasn’t just crying about Aizen -although that caused the lion’s share of her distress- but also seven-year-old, nine-year-old, and fourteen-year-old Orihimes were coming through, taking all the comfort that Ulquiorra offered for the sins other men had inflicted upon her.

He let her cry, rocking her back and forth, patting and rubbing her back. The musician did what his dad always did to him on the rare occasion Ulquiorra got upset. She needed to get this out. “Moon River, wider than a mile. I’m crossing you in style some day...” he sang to her. He got through the entire song and started humming the melody to the old classic. 

She let it pour out of her, and about ten minutes later, she had quieted down to sniffles and hiccups, and another five minutes later, her breathing had leveled out.

“Orihime?” Ulquiorra asked as he finished singing the song to her.

At first he was only answered with her soft breaths against his chest, then a few moments later, a soft, nasally, “huh?”

“You should go back to sleep.”

She nodded a bit. “Okay,” she whispered, letting go of his back and reaching behind her to support her descent into the mattress.

He sighed and watched her, trying not to jump to her aid. Orihime had to live with her injuries, so it made sense for her to help herself in these situations. God, he was an asshole. “Do you want some melatonin or some more pain meds?” He asked before standing.

“No melatonin. It makes me have vivid dreams. Can I have just the Motrin and some water?”

Ulquiorra nodded and left the room, making his way the short distance down the hall. He came back a moment later with pills and a bottle of water for her. “Anything else? I can recheck the locks on the door if you want.”

“Please?” she asked, taking the medicine and washing it down with the water. “Thank you,” she said after she swallowed, laying back down.

She sounded and looked pitiful. Ulquiorra would have done anything for Orihime at that moment. He frowned as he walked towards the bolted doors, turning the locks to disengaged and then relocking them. “Good night, Orihime,” he said turning off the light and leaving the room.

“Goodnight,” she called after him.

***

The next night the same thing happened, and it kept happening every night after that. Ulquiorra sighed a week later, when he was upstairs holding her, wiping off her face and getting her a drink of water. He rechecked the locks, but instead of going back down to his bed, he sat on the empty side of her bed. He sighed and glanced at her, then hung his head.

“I’m sorry. You must be very tired.” She was tired, too. This was getting to be too much for him, she was sure. Not just the late night terrors, but the daytime hours of avoiding one another. “I’m supposed to go follow up with the doctor today. Maybe they can give me something for sleep. Otherwise I can call Dr. Tristan…”

“No. No pills for sleeping. You scared the shit out of me the first time. Just lay down. You seem to sleep fine when I’m working on something in the living room or the kitchen. You and Prin just snoring away on the couch. I’m spending the rest of the night up here. If this works, then you’re coming downstairs with me at night.” Ulquiorra said as he scooted up the bed.

She rose an eyebrow at him. It no longer hurt like it had before; the swelling was mostly gone and all that was left was an ugly, yellowing bruise. “Are you sure? I mean, what if I keep you up?”

“Orihime. Please. I’m willing to try anything but drugs to sleep. I just want you to stop screaming about Aizen at night. I get so fucking angry when I hear you cry, that I want to find the bastard and kill him,” Ulquiorra replied, staring at her. It sank in what he said, and he swallowed. “Just one night, if this doesn’t work then we’ll try something else.”

“Alright,” she said, putting her head back on her pillow. “You should probably flip the pillow over though, Princess has been using that one,” she said with a small huff of laughter, trying to calm him with some misplaced humor.

The pillow she was referring to was covered in black, beige, and gray hair. “Ew,” he said, throwing it on the floor. He got off the bed and ran downstairs to get one of the pillows off his bed before going back to her room. Princess was already on the side of the bed he was going to sleep on. “Princess, down.”

The dog thumped her tail a few times and looked at Orihime.

“Oh, no. I am your lord and master, and I say down!”

Orihime smiled. She loved the relationship Princess had with Ulquiorra. She had him wrapped around her little -well, big- paw. “Come on, sweet girl, come over and keep my legs warm,” she said, patting at the space closer to the end of the bed. She was short enough that there was plenty of room on her side where her legs stopped and the bed kept going.

He watched as the giant ball of fur crawled over on her belly to where Orihime patted. Huffing, Ulquiorra rolled his eyes and got into Orihime’s bed. He wanted to grumble, but he was glad that the two most important females in his life liked each other. “This is just like old times okay? If you need me or want me to hold you or something, I’m here.”

She was glad that the only light in the room came from the nightstand lamp, because she was blushing hard. “Okay. Thanks. Oh, and don’t worry about Princess not listening, she’s just trying to defend you from me, I’m sure.”

Glancing over at Orihime, Ulquiorra raised a brow. What a strange statement from her. Why would he need defending from Orihime? “I mean, I’m not going to grope you or anything, but, you know what I mean.”

“I know. Don’t worry about it. Good night, Ulquiorra,” she murmured, sounding more like the old her than she had since before this happened.

He woke up to a hairy dog using her paw to smack him in the face. When Ulquiorra opened his eyes, he saw it was daylight. Either the dog needed to go outside or she was telling him to get the hell up and out of her spot. “What?” he asked softly, seeing if Orihime was still asleep.

“Boof.”

“Go outside and go potty?”

“BOOF.”

He shook his head and smiled as he sat up. Princess was a weird dog. She didn’t really bark. There were no loud WOOFs or harsh yaps. She made soft sounds. He got out of bed, leading the dog out of the room and to the front door. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see Nanao standing next to a guy in a suit with a pink kimono around his shoulders. That was strange attire for Los Angeles.

The dog raced past the humans and started running around the yard like a mad animal, as she always did in the morning. It took Ulquiorra a moment to register the state of himself. “Fuck, Nan. Why didn’t you call? Who is this?”

“Hello there. I’m Shunsui Kyoraku, CEO of Soul Soci--”

“Oh.”


	6. Ever

“So, you haven’t heard anything? No leads? What about the parking structure video?” the redhead asked.

“You can see what happened until you were on the ground, to some extent, anyway. You can see him drive away in a rental car. That car was returned the following day. He used a credit card in Nemu Kurotsuchi’s name,” the older man said.

Orihime rubbed her left arm with her right hand, clearly distressed. 

“Don’t worry, Hime-chan,” Shunsui Kyoraku said with a paternal smile. “The police are pursuing this vigorously. And you’re safe here with Mr. Cifer, right?” he said, raising his gaze to the dark-haired man.

Ulquiorra nodded. “Orihime’s fine here with me. If I have to leave and Nan isn’t available, I bring her with me, otherwise Nanao stays here with her. Eventually she’ll probably want to return to her own home. I mean, I like having her here,” he replied, glancing at the redhead. “I’m sure Urahara will be back soon.”

“He is due back in about a week, but there’s the issue of the proximity of his residence to the scene of the crime. With the amount of traffic cameras and people looking out for Aizen, it would be difficult for him to travel far. I think you’d be safer somewhere out here, Hime-chan. Isn’t that right, dear niece?”

Nanao loved her uncle, but sometimes he was a buffoon. She rolled her eyes under closed lids and nodded. “Ulq has cameras all over this place. He can watch them at any time from his computers or phone. Plus, the security people around here are top notch. Aizen won’t be able to roll up or through those gates.”

Ulquiorra looked at the dog instead of anyone else in the room. He didn’t want to see their reactions or the judgment on their faces. He only had a couple of cameras when he moved in, but as soon as Orihime came by that one time, he had more cameras installed. Then the thing with Aizen happened… more cameras were put around the house and the property.

Kyoraku misread Ulquiorra’s body language. “If it is an inconvenience or a burden, Mr. Cifer, Soul Society is willing to offer you some measure of compensation for your efforts. We are serious about keeping her safe and we think this is a good place to do it. We can ease any hardship you may incur.”

Orihime felt weird being talked about like she wasn’t in the room. She also really didn’t like the thought of leaving Ulquiorra’s house. She did feel safe from Aizen here. She also felt like once she left, that would be the end of Ulquiorra and Orihime, for real this time. She wasn’t ready to let go yet.

Green eyes met her dark ones and Ulquiorra shook his head. “It’s not an inconvenience. I just want this bastard caught. I want the fucking book thrown at him. We have proof of dozens of women being abused by him and I will NOT let this slide. I can’t. I won’t.”

The older man smiled a little too widely for just a moment. “Very well. Now, onto other matters. Orihime, there have been a lot of media inquiries. You were on tour and then you vanished. Your social media accounts have been dead. It’s not going to take long until someone sniffs out the story. You’re going to need to decide how you want to manage this. On top of that, there is the matter of any information about your current location potentially providing Aizen with a roadmap of where to find you.”

Orihime shook her head. Her hand trembled a bit as it searched for Princess, but Ulquiorra had told her to lie down so the humans could talk. She bit her lip instead, then asked, “What do you suggest? I don’t want this story getting out at all until at least after he is arrested.”

Kyoraku nodded. “Do either of you have any private photos or videos from before this happened? Anything you would be willing to post on Instagram or YouTube to make it appear that you are happy, healthy, and somewhere else?”

Ulquiorra looked at Orihime again and nodded. They had pictures of them down in Laguna Beach. They had pictures of themselves in Austin that were never posted. They had pictures of themselves in Ohio that were never posted. “I might have some on my phone.”

Kyoraku grinned again. “Excellent. I can leave it up to you, right Na-chan? And Orihime, if you wouldn’t mind temporarily allowing Nanao to manage your social media? I think it would be wise for you to stay off of it personally, for the time being. No need for you to be bothered should unwelcome individuals try reaching out, right?”

Orihime nodded and held out her phone to Nanao silently. She hadn’t even considered what she would do if Aizen sent her messages on social media. She’d be terrorized all over again. She looked terrified right now.

“She has no social media manager. She never had proper security. Isn’t there someone who should have been--”

“I’d think Hanataro would have been on top of it,” Kyoraku said, rubbing his chin.

Nanao hit her uncle with the papers she rolled into a tube. “Focus, this is important. Get her a social media manager. Get her an assistant. What if Ulq and I have to do something? She needs someone if she’s to become the next big artist for your label!”

Kyoraku looked at his niece fondly and then to Orihime with the same gentle expression. “Is that what you want, Orihime? To become the next big thing?”

Orihime looked down and shook her head. “I had refused all the staff. I wanted to control my image myself. I still do. I don’t want my star to rise too fast and burn out quicker. I am a musician. I’m not a popstar. I just want to make good music.”

Kyoraku looked at his niece with a self-satisfied smile. “You see what I have always told you, Nanao-chan? You must listen to your artists and allow them to grow at their own pace. Now, there is one thing I insist on, and that is getting you your own assistant. Rukia Kuchiki is wonderful, but she works for Kisuke and Yoruichi. She was only meant to assist you until you had signed on as a favor to them. The only reason she continued to assist you then was because Kisuke insisted that you had someone experienced. Unfortunately, Aizen had his hand in our personnel records, so we’ll have to take our time finding someone suitable who can pass strict background checks. Unless you know someone.”

Ulquiorra pressed his lips into a thin line. This is not what he wanted to hear. “Orihime, Nanao controls the messages. She weeds through and blocks people. She updates my webpage and facebook pages. That’s all she does. She yells at me for posting stuff because, WHY?”

“I mean, you need to be yelled at sometimes.”

His eyes shifted over to his employee. “See?”

Orihime looked down at her knees and played with the hem of her skirt. “I just… I wasn’t ready to be big like you, Ulquiorra. I see how people treat you. I see how people try to get close to you and throw themselves at you. I see how much people look up to you and try to emulate you. I don’t know if I can handle that kind of pressure. And, even if I could, what if people expect me to reach your level of success and then I never get there? I don’t want to let a bunch of people down. You’ve been famous for a long time already. I’m a nobody. Well, now I’m famous for being a slut on camera, so I also feel like I need to crawl out of that hole slowly.”

He sighed. “I’ve already let a bunch of people down. I don’t care what my fans think of me. I don’t give a shit what the people at Espada Records or Soul Society think of me. I am me. The only person I give a fuck about--” he paused long enough to level a stare at Orihime, “is you.”

She held his gaze as her face changed color slightly. “Do you think I should get staff? What about our… what about my privacy?”

Ulquiorra looked at Nanao. He shrugged. 

“I’ve never read your messages to each other. I knew to stay out of them, but everyone else was fair game,” Nanao lied. She had read everything between ObscurasIV and Vega.Strife00. 

“Well, sorry if it’s TMI, but if we’re talking privacy, Nanao has already been so far up in my business that I don’t think there is anything I’d be embarrassed to show her. Thanks, by the way,” Orihime said, twisting her mouth to the side. “I’ve been off the pain meds for a day and a half now and the mental disconnect is gone… I can really appreciate how you’ve gone above and beyond. I owe you,” she said softly, looking at the assistant with a vulnerable expression.

Nanao’s face got red and she quickly leaned over to give Orihime a brief hug. It was clear the praise ruffled her feathers. “Um, you’re welcome.”

“Maybe Nanao can be your assistant.” Ulquiorra looked at the women with a contemplative look on his face.

“Oh, I couldn’t!” Orihime protested. “I know how much you rely on her. I could never steal her. Plus, I don’t think I can afford her.”

“No, you wouldn’t pay for it. Soul Society would,” Kyoraku said quietly.

“Still,” Orihime pouted, looking at Ulquiorra with heavy significance. She could never, ever swipe Nanao from him. He needed her. And, more importantly, she admitted to herself with shame, Orihime trusted Nanao. That was not something she was willing to give up easily; another female who didn’t threaten whatever connection she had with Ulquiorra.

Nanao shook her head. “I’m under contract with Espada. I can’t work for Orihime -as much as I would like to- but I do have a person in mind. Isane, Uncle. Remember her?”

“How could I forget such a lovely young woman. Of course, Isane is a wonderful person. She used to assist Retsu Unohana. She was a classical musician at Seireitei; played the violin. Sadly Retsu passed away a few years ago. I’ll have my secretary look Isane up and see what she is up to these days. In the meantime, just for the next couple days, can you manage posting the pictures and keeping Orihime’s cover from being blown?” he asked his niece. “As much as I want to protect Hime-chan from having this story go public, I also need to keep Soul Society’s image as clean as I can. At least until the bastard is arrested. A media circus is a great opportunity for him to slip through our fingers.”

Ulquiorra looked at his phone and picked out a picture of him and Orihime that was taken at the Laguna Beach house. He sent it to her phone along with several others. There were ones of her in the pool with a pair of sunglasses on. There was another of her singing in the kitchen. There was even one of her strolling on the beach behind that house. He looked at the photos with an affectionate smile on his lips. “Will those help?” he asked.

Orihime still had her phone in her hand and looked at the pictures as they popped up on her phone. “When did you…” she let the question hang as she looked at Ulquiorra in wonder.

His face turned pink. “Uh, I like looking at you. I wanted photos to look at,” he said.

Half of her mouth tipped up into a smile for a moment, although her eyes looked sad. “I’m starting to get tired, and I have to go to the doctor soon,” she murmured, her eyes still glued to her ex-boyfriend. “Is there anything else we need to discuss?”

Kyoraku shook his head. He held his hand out to Ulquiorra and Orihime before he and Nanao left. When they were alone, the musician looked at his ex-girlfriend. He wasn’t going to break this silence.

She stared at him for a long time. She considered all kinds of things she could say to him, waiting for something to bubble to the top. Three words kept coming to mind; three words that were hard to choke back down, but that had no place coming out of her mouth at the moment. “I… I’m not ready to leave here,” she finally said. “I know he said Kisuke is coming back in a week, but I’m not ready to leave. You’re right; I feel safe here. You’ll tell me when you want me to leave, right?”

“I don’t want you to leave.”

“But you’ll tell me when you do, right?”

“I do not want you to leave. Ever.” Ulquiorra stared back at her with a serious expression.

Her heart was pounding in her chest. “Ever?”

He took a deep breath. “I’ve been trying to tell you this. You told me to get my head out of my ass and call you when I got a clue. I figured you wanted someone more deserving of you.”

She blinked several times, letting what he said sink in slowly. Finally she replied, “You misunderstood me. Since we met, I’ve only wanted you.”

Ulquiorra’s eyes widened and then they narrowed as his brow furrowed. He misunderstood her? How? “You know, I don’t really think of anyone else in a romantic way. I don’t think of anyone in a sexual way, except for you. I don’t want anyone but you.”

“I know,” she said sadly, her head slowly tilting to the side. “But you were so willing to think poorly of me, even though I know that what you say is true.” She tilted her head back up to look him square in the eye. 

Ulquiorra felt uncomfortable, so he shifted his attention to the floor. “I fucked up. All I saw was you with that guy, and I thought you were trying to get back at me. It was idiotic of me to think that, because I should have realized how devoted you were to me and to us.” He shifted his body and glanced at Orihime. “I do not want you to leave, but I understand if you need to go after Aizen is caught or whatever. I hurt you.”

Her lips twitched, stretching wide and pursing as she tried to maintain composure. She had to swallow a few times before she responded. “I’m afraid to leave. I’m afraid that if I walk out that door without you, that will be it. Aizen or no. I’m afraid that if I leave, there is no coming back,” tears fell from both eyes without her permission as she continued, “no more Vega. No more Obscuras. No more us. Ever. I can’t--” she hiccupped twice and clammed up. She couldn’t speak anymore.

His chest tightened as he listened to Orihime. “But… I’m no one, Orihime. I don’t want you to, but you could find someone else who believes in you and has never hurt you. I don’t want you to leave. Without you, I’m not Obscuras. I’m some asshole with a guitar and some knowledge of music. I’m a college dropout. I’m just some coffee shop worker.”

Orihime sniffed until she could breathe, and then asked, “So, you still don’t believe in me?” She was confused by what he said.

“No, Baby. I believe in you. I believe everything that comes from your mouth, now. I’ve been listening to every word you’ve said since you’ve been here. You have proven to me time and time again--” Ulquiorra stopped speaking and stared at her. “Ever since we’ve met, I’ve been no good for you. I didn’t trust you. I lied to you. I cheated on you. Why do you want to be with me?”

Orihime rolled her eyes before she answered. “I’ve been trying to earn a place in your life all this time. You have a family. You had Nel. You have your million subscribers and your fans and your label and --I mean I have one too, now, but before-- anyway, I felt like I needed to earn your approval, and you have given it and taken it away… I don’t know. I only know that you are closer to me than anyone has ever been in my whole life, and I do not want to give that up. The thought of that kills me. I know you have people close to you, but to me, you are it.”

“To me, you are it, too. My family can go screw themselves. My mom and dad are back together. Nel has fucked herself over. I only want my number one fan. No one else. You are the reason why I am here today, Orihime. You’re the one reason why I wanted to continue to make music. I sang for you. I don’t know why I latched onto you, but I do know that I love you and I would do anything to keep you safe and sound,” Ulquiorra said.

He stood up and walked over to where she sat in the wheelchair and placed his hands on either arm of it. He leaned down and stared at her, his nose inches from hers. “I love you. You don’t need my approval. You have my heart. I get mad because of you. I get jealous because of you. I am proud of what you’ve done. I want to do nothing but lay around and be with you. I want all of your attention. I crave everything about you. Your voice; your smile; your laugh and yes, even your tears. If I didn’t want you here, I wouldn’t have showed up that night. If I didn’t want you here, you wouldn’t be in my life. I want you here; I always have. I love you.”

She inhaled an unsteady breath at his admission, and almost kissed him, but then the voice of well-earned doubt whispered in her ear, and she had to address its concerns. “Be honest, though. There were times you _didn’t_ want me in your life. Multiple times. Even when I was on tour, you always said you weren’t sure; that you had doubts about us; about me. You keep saying that you don’t want to risk our “friendship”. I guess I have to tell you in plain words, and you need to actually hear it and believe me: if we don’t work out in a romantic sense, there is no friendship. For me, it is past the point of no return. I love you, Ulquiorra. I love you and I can’t love anybody else. But I can’t surrender myself to a life of lonely misery either. So, as much as I don’t want to - as much as it would kill me - if you don’t want to be with me, we have to say goodbye.”

His face crumpled slightly to hear those words and Ulquiorra swallowed. He wouldn’t cry, but his eyes started to burn and his bottom lip trembled. He couldn’t say anything to that. It took him several minutes to compose himself. “I was scared. Falling in love is scary. Falling for someone you want to spend forever with is frightening. I didn’t know what to do. I made shitty choices. I want to be with you,” he managed to say.

“Do you understand the stakes now? Do you see why I wanted to keep “dancing?” I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. But I knew you weren’t ready to be what I need you to be to feel secure. That’s what I meant when I told you that you needed to get a clue; to figure out what you wanted. Because you didn’t want to dance anymore, but you didn’t want me on my terms, either.” She wiped another tear out of her eye.

Ulquiorra nodded. “I understand. I also didn’t have my life together. I have it together now, sometimes, things have been crazy over the past week,” he said, looking at her. “Where does that leave us now?”

She gave him a dubious look. “It’s only been a little over two weeks since that night. Are you telling me that you have gotten your life together in that time?”

“No, I’ve been slowly getting my shit together since May. The therapist has been helping. In the past couple of weeks, she has told me I either need to shit or get off the pot. The same thing you’ve told me time and time again.”

She closed her mouth, which had been slightly open as she listened, and exhaled through her nostrils. “And?”

Ulquiorra straightened up. “I realized you were right. You’ve been right all along, and I’m an asshole, but I love you with everything I have.” He turned around and lifted his shirt. He had disappeared the other day, leaving Orihime with Nanao and came back several hours later. There on his back, around where his right kidney would be, Ulquiorra had a new tattoo. It was the constellation that held Vega and Altair.

Her face became hot and her lips felt numb. She was very moved by this gesture, but she didn’t understand it. “You did this although you thought I didn’t want you?”

Letting the shirt drop, Ulquiorra sighed and nodded. “Yeah. I’m stupid. You could leave me, and I’d still love you. I would never fall in love with anyone else, Orihime. You’re my endgame. You’re my life.”

She closed her eyes and struggled not to cry. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself, and then, keeping her eyes shut because she didn’t know if she could do this with them open, she said, “I don’t know what hurts worse, all of our lost time, or the thought of you not knowing how much I love you.”

She started to cry anyway, hot tears slipping past her eyelids and rolling down her cheeks, leaving streaks down to her chin.

Ulquiorra turned around and bent down again, wrapping his arms around Orihime’s body. “I’m sorry I’m stupid,” he murmured to her.

She melted into his embrace and let herself cry for half a minute more, then blinked the tears away and sniffed her nose clear. “Well, we’ll have more to talk about, I’m sure, but I have to go to the doctor now,” she said, pulling back a bit and looking at him with a somewhat apologetic smile.

He smiled back at her before he picked her up, taking her out to his car. He went back inside and got her wheelchair and stowed it in the trunk. “Do you need anything else from the house before I put Prin inside and lock it up?”

“Just my purse and wallet; I need my insurance card and stuff,” she replied, touching the side of her chin that had been in contact with his body as he carried her to the car. She knew things had shifted between them, and she was glad, but she wasn’t sure where they stood and what was next. It felt a lot like it did when they first got together. The thought of that made her smile, and by the time Ulquiorra returned to the car, her face was bright red.

“Are you okay? I should have turned the car on so you could have AC instead of sitting--What’s wrong Orihime?” He was confused.

She smiled at the dashboard, then bit her lip for a second. “No, it’s not that, it’s just…” Fuck it. She picked up his hand and kissed the back of it before letting go. “We better go.”

Ulquiorra looked down at his hand and then back at Orihime. He knew they had a long way to go, but he didn’t care. He’d walk over every inch of the Earth for her. He leaned over and kissed her slowly. When he pulled back his heart was racing. “Come what may,” he sang to her. “I will love you, until my dying day.” 

“Moulin Rouge?” she asked, her voice a bit dreamy and soft.

“It’s my favorite musical… Could you consider it a musical? I consider it a musical.” Ulquiorra blushed and pulled back from her. He referenced the same movie when he broke up with her. It was a movie--musical--whatever that could be quoted in several instances. It was full of people falling in love and having their hearts broken. But they weren’t Christian or Satine. They were Ulquiorra and Orihime. “We better go to your appointment. We can talk… tonight.”

***

The doctor’s appointment went well. Her hands and chin were healing nicely. Her elbow dislocation had been a simple one; The doctor gave her a print out of physical therapy exercises she could do at home and said she could start taking it out of the splint in the next couple of days. He offered her the option of a kneeling scooter instead of the wheelchair now that she could use both hands, which she readily accepted. He said the boot on her ankle would need to stay in place for another two weeks though, and then they could maybe take that off and use a splint if the healing was going as projected; that way she’d have more mobility and could easily take it on and off for showers. 

He did recommend she continue to try to speak as softly as possible due to her work and the injury to her throat; and refrain from singing for another two weeks at least. Even then, she should avoid straining her voice until the injury had completely healed and had a chance to rest. She would have to see an ear, nose, and throat specialist for further instructions. That frustrated her.

Orihime thanked the doctor and left the office with Ulquiorra with a bit of a disappointed expression. “I guess I’m on a forced vacation, huh?”

Ulquiorra chuckled, shaking his head. “He’s right. Vocal chords are a delicate thing, Orihime. You need to heal. Mentally and physically.”

She groaned. “I know, but I miss it,” she said it quietly, and gave Ulquiorra a petulant expression to make sure he knew how much she didn’t like it.

“Would a milkshake make things better?” he asked. “I’ve bet you’ve never been to a Pink’s Hot Dog or some greasy dive place.”

Her dour face lit up and she shook her head. “That sounds kind of perverted but also delicious? Lets?” she agreed with a twinkle in her eye and zoomed her new kneeling scooter past him down the hallway with a soft, “Weee!”

About ninety minutes later they were at the hot dog place, and Ulquiorra frowned when he learned they didn’t have milkshakes on the menu. “Ugh, I’m hungry, but I don’t want to drive, but I want a milkshake. What do you want to do?”

“Well, these patio tables look really nice and I’ve been stuck inside for a very long time… How about we eat and then hit a drive through? Or we can go home and make milkshakes? They aren’t hard.”

Ulquiorra grinned and nodded. After they ordered and sat down, Orihime started talking.

“Did you mean what you said in that interview?”

His head snapped up and he focused his attention on her. “About? I said a lot of things in a lot of interviews.” 

Orihime took a deep breath. Here goes nothing, she thought. “The Teen Vogue article.” She left it vague enough… almost the entire article had been about her, but there was one thing she was particularly interested in.

“The marriage thing?” Ulquiorra guessed. She had to be talking about that. Hadn’t Ichigo mentioned that? 

“Well, yeah, that.”

“Sometimes I’d think about it, but I didn’t know if you wanted something like that. I looked at my parents’ marriage and thought, no, I couldn’t do that to us or our friendship. You made it clear we can’t be friends, so I wouldn’t ask unless I was certain.” Ulquiorra sighed. He made his voice calm. “I don’t know how many times I have shown you or told you that I love you, but I don’t mind it. I would tell you and show you a million times. Even when I’m apart from you, I love you. I know it doesn’t seem that way, but you’re the only person I think about.”

She nodded. She wasn’t sure exactly why she asked about that, except that she was trying to convince herself to believe what he had said in the kitchen at his house. His answer didn’t change anything. “Fair enough,” she said and took another bite of her hotdog.

“Does it bother you?”

“No. I just was surprised when I read it. I mean, you had never mentioned it, and I don’t know how much that interviewer twisted your words or whatever.”

Ulquiorra looked at Orihime for a long moment. He could tell her. “Do you want to listen to the interview? I recorded it on my phone, just in case they were going to twist my words.”

“If you want me to. I read the article. If there is anything else you want me to know, I’d be happy to listen to it.”

He shook his head. “The article is pretty cut and dry. The interviewer didn’t twist my words. I said what I said and I meant it.”

Orihime pressed her lips together and nodded, blushing before she took another bite. After she had swallowed most of it, she murmured. “Oh. I guess I understand where you’re coming from, then.”

He let the matter drop after that. After they finished eating, he didn’t feel like putting anything else in his stomach, though. “I don’t think I ever want to eat again,” he mumbled as he stood to go to the car. “How are you feeling?”

Orihime had only eaten about half of her La La Land hotdog, and she felt full as well. This place kind of went overboard. “I hate to waste this, but I don’t think it’s going to travel well with all this guacamole on it. One more bite and then the rest will be a sacrifice to the dumpster gods.”

“I would offer, but I think the Philly Cheesesteak dog had my number. The fries and onion rings were killer though,” he said, waiting for her. He looked at Orihime and smiled. Suddenly he felt shy. “Maybe I could take you to this really great ice cream shop another day?”

She smiled back, “It’s a date,” she said, her cheeks blushing. The bruise around her eye was almost completely gone, and she looked a lot like she did before all this drama happened. The only visible imperfection was the red mark on her chin.

“Vega Highwell!” A girl about fifteen or sixteen years old called out and came jogging up to them and stopped a respectful distance away. “Is that you?”

Orihime looked to her left and right and nodded. “Yes?”

“Oh! I was at both of your LA shows! Oh my god I love you!”

“Thank you,” she said, slightly taken aback but smiling, turning to look at Ulquiorra for a second. “Thank you for coming to both shows,” she said.

“What happened to you?” the girl asked, looking up and down at Orihime on the kneeling scooter.

“Oh, um…” she looked to Ulquiorra for an answer. He just shook his head a bit. “...I was in a skateboarding accident.”

“You skateboard?!?” the girl asked.

“No, hence the accident,” Orihime said, pointing to her chin and leg. “I am never getting back on a skateboard ever again, right?” She looked at Ulquiorra and raised her eyebrows, hoping he would corroborate her story.

“Yeah, she took a spill,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I was skateboarding on my property and she thought it would be fun to try. She told me what a nose flip was, so I let her on it without proper safety equipment.”

The girl raised her lip and flared her nostrils at Ulquiorra. “Oh, so it’s your fault? Real nice. So who are you?”

Orihime laughed at that, loudly at first, until she remembered her doctor’s advice and quieted down.

A black brow rose. “I’m Obscuras four, a.k.a. Vega’s boyfriend,” he said without thinking. He gave Orihime’s fan a smile and put an arm around the redhead’s waist. “It’s not my fault. Our dog took her out.”

Orihime smiled until the fan said, “Maybe you need a new boyfriend and a new dog if they get you into accidents.”

At that, Orihime scoffed gently and said, “No, I think I’m going to keep them,” letting her head fall onto his shoulder. “We have to get going, but it was nice meeting you…” she paused to let the fan fill in the rest.

“Miranda,” she supplied. “Hey, can I get a picture?”

“Sure,” Orihime said, gesturing for the girl to come stand in front of her and Ulquiorra. “Cheese!”

Ulquiorra didn’t like this idea so he kept his face straight as the picture was taken. It was unsettling to hear people tell Orihime to find a new boyfriend. He wasn’t the best guy, but he knew what he felt in his heart.

The fan thanked them both and let them get on their way. As Orihime turned around toward the car again, she smiled and asked Ulquiorra, “Our dog?”

He gave her a bored look. “Skateboarding accident?” he asked. “She might as well be our dog. Princess loves you.”

Orihime sighed in satisfaction. “It’s mutual. And yeah, skateboarding accident. Where else am I going to skin my chin on the pavement?”

“You tripped and fell down some stairs? Anyway, your fans are rude. Who am I? Tch,” he scoffed, pretending to be offended.

“Oh come _on,_ ” she said, pushing his shoulder playfully. “We have different audiences. I have more dreamy young women and you have more angry acne weekend guitarists,” she said with a giggle. She was hoping to get a reaction. 

“Angry acne weekend guitarists?” he sputtered. Ulquiorra rolled his eyes. “You sing teeny bopper music.”

“You haven’t even heard it, except for what’s up on YouTube. It is anything but teeny bopper.”

“I have seen the shows people put up on Youtube. Also your entire album is on there. I’ve heard it.”

“Oh? And you still think it’s teeny bopper? What kind of teen are you? Oh wait, don’t answer that,” she said. “Have you seen the music video? I mean, if I was the mom of a teeny bopper I’d kind of discourage watching it.”

Ulquiorra shook his head as they reached the car. He unlocked the door and was going to open it but he heard, “Yes that is them! Oh my god! It’s him and it’s her!”

He sighed and looked at Orihime. “Do we run or do you want to meet more fans?”

“Uh, smile and wave as we run?” she said, unsure how much more exposed she wanted to be.

“Get in the car and I’ll put your cart in the backseat then deal with them.” Ulquiorra didn’t wait for her to reply before he helped her inside the vehicle and then stashed her new contraption in the trunk just as two people with cameras came up to him. They weren’t fans, they were paparazzi. 

He just pushed past them and got into the car while they talked a mile a minute, snapping photos. As soon as he could, he headed towards his house. “Welcome to being a star,” he said to Orihime.

“Hooray,” she said sarcastically, putting two thumbs up. “They aren’t following us, are they?”

Ulquiorra looked in his rearview mirror. “I don’t think so, but this is why I don’t go out much.”

“You never did before California, either,” she pointed out. “Maybe we should take a long way home, just in case.” She was getting worried about Aizen learning about her location.

His hands tightened on the steering wheel and Ulquiorra nodded. “It’ll be about four hours until we get home, then.”

***

“I’m sorry Princess, I’m sorry girl,” Orihime cooed as the dog danced around their feet, whining quietly. “Are you hungry yet?” Orihime asked both her and Ulquiorra.

This was the first time that Ulquiorra ever heard the dog yip. She did the bouncing around thing, almost knocking him down. “Go outside first,” he said, pointing out the door. The dog dashed outside and he closed the door behind the animal. “You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, just a little stiff from sitting in the car. You?”

“I’m okay. Do you want to talk now or wait until later?”

“Now is good.” She wheeled herself over to the living room couch and took a seat. “Well… for starters, how do you feel now that we’ve had a few hours to let these, um, confessions settle in?” She wasn’t sure how to start; they had gotten interrupted so quickly after their talk that afternoon and then were forced to undertake normal activities. They had just kind of fallen back into acting like a couple. It felt comfortable and normal to Orihime. She wasn’t sure about him. Maybe it was too good to be true.

He regarded Orihime for a moment, tilting his head. “You love me, don’t you? I know you do. I can see it in your face. I love you. We’re going to make this work because I don’t want to lose you. You are my best friend, Orihime.” Ulquiorra got to his knees in front of the redhead, because he wanted to be eye to eye with her. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

“Are you sure that’s what you want? You’re not going to change your mind again?”

An unimpressed expression formed on his face. How much more proof did she need that there was no way in hell he would ever change his mind? Ulquiorra realized he was acting selfishly. If she accepted him back without asking these questions, it would probably send them down the same road they had been traveling. They’d keep circling the wagons and never get out of this rut of hurting each other, at least he wouldn’t. He would keep hurting her and avoiding conflict. Orihime would probably get fed up with it eventually and block him from contacting her again. “You’re my best friend, Orihime. I love you. I want to make this work with you. If this takes months, then so be it. I’m not going to change my mind. I love you and I want to be with you.”

She smiled at him. “Then yes. For as long as you want me to be,” she answered, reaching out for his hand. “I do love you. I’ve never stopped. I love you.” She looked away, trying to stop the swell of tears that were threatening to form. She let her eyes scan the room, and added, “I love your dog. I love your house. I love your music,” her eyes fell onto their hands. “I love us.”

He kissed her again, running his free hand through her hair, pulling her closer to him. Ulquiorra couldn’t believe how lucky he was that this woman was willing to forgive him and give him a final chance. Tears were running down his cheeks when he pulled away from her. “I love you. I want us. I want you in my house and I want your stuff in it. I want everything about you.”

She scooted closer to the edge of the seat so that their bodies were closer to one another and she could put her hand behind his back. “I guess when I get an assistant, the first task will be to get my stuff out of the pool house in Beverly Hills,” she paused to chuckle, letting go of his hand and cupping the side of his face, her thumb wiping away some the tears that fell from his left eye. She looked into the green irises she loved so much and murmured, “That place never felt like home, anyway. I’m looking at home right now.”

He buried his face into her neck and stayed there for a moment. This place didn’t feel like home until she got here. But when she said assistant, it brought him back to the present. Giving a chuckle, Ulquiorra sniffed. “That reminds me. Nan texted while we were driving.”

“Oh yeah? What about?” Orihime asked, somewhat jarred by the segue, but interested nonetheless.

“Monday, your assistant will be here to meet you. I love you. This all seems… I don’t know.”

“Overwhelming? Sudden? Unexpected? Miraculous?” she offered a list of words that described how she was feeling.

“You got it. We still have a problem, Veggs.”

“What is it?”

Ulquiorra looked at her. “You get to tell Princess she can’t sleep in our bed with us. Also… we have to hold off any, uh, _activities_ until your leg heals.”

She chuckled. “Well, I’ll break it to her gently. And as far as the _activities_ go, it’s going to be easy for me to abstain; it hurts a lot worse than I let on.”

“You did too much today if it hurts. Put your leg up and I’ll get you some pain stuff. Take a nap, okay?”

“Just the Motrin, okay? I’d rather it hurts a bit and I remember today, than erase the pain along with most of the memories,” she said, following his advice and putting her leg up. “Don’t forget to let Prin inside.”

It was impossible to miss the dog who was standing at the living room door that led to the deck. She was still wagging her tail. He had to laugh as he walked over and let Princess in. He got Orihime some medicine and then sat down on the couch with her, watching TV. This was nice. This was good. This was comforting to him. He hoped she felt the same way.


	7. Identification

“Tell him to be careful! Actually, can you just do that part?” Orihime asked, looking down at her phone. Her new assistant, Isane Kotetsu, was currently at Yoruichi and Kisuke’s pool house, supervising the packing of her stuff, while Orihime sat on the couch in Ulquiorra’s -rather, her and Ulquiorra’s- living room with Princess’ head in her lap. She had been doing a video call with the assistant as they sorted through what was hers and what stayed in the pool house. Orihime hadn’t been pleased with the way the moving man had been handling her Bad Habits. 

Yoruichi was there to help the new assistant. “Are you sure you want to give this place up? I’ve heard that Cifer’s place isn’t this big or new,” Yoruichi said to Orihime through the assistant’s iPad.

“You’ll probably see me just as much as you did before,” Orihime said with a chuckle. Kisuke and Yoruichi both worked a lot, and Orihime saw them at the office much more than she saw them at her old home.

“After this room, I think we’re finished. I’ll send the packing crew home and meet you at your house at one-thirty. You really don’t have that much stuff, so I think I’ll call off the moving man over there and help you put it away myself,” the tall assistant with bleached gray hair offered.

“Sounds good, I’ll talk to you later,” Orihime said, ending the call and standing up, getting on her scooter and wheeling over to the window that faced the backyard with Princess in tow. She watched Ulquiorra skim the pool as she thought about her new assistant. Isane was good. A bit mousy, despite her impressive height. She was not the no-nonsense person that Nanao was, though. She needed more direction and was afraid of Orihime. The redhead sighed. She didn’t care for that. She preferred Nanao, but she was Ulquiorra’s.

That thought brought her attention back to her shirtless boyfriend. She watched him more carefully, observing how he had filled out nicely since Austin. She watched the muscles in his back ripple under his Vega and Altair tattoo, and she decided that such art needed some appreciation. She opened the french doors that led out to the balcony over the pool and rolled out.

“Hey, Handsome! You want some lunch, or do you just want to stand out there looking good for me?” she shouted over the rail.

Ulquiorra looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at Orihime. “Take a picture, it might last longer,” he said as he turned from the pool, disappearing for a moment with the net and then coming back to look up at her. “Are you cooking? I thought you were supervising the move via FaceTime?” 

“They’re already packed up and Isane is coming here on her own. I don’t have a lot of stuff. And I wouldn’t call what I’m doing  _ cooking _ ; I am planning to assemble sandwiches. Tuna or BLT?”

“Uh,” Ulquiorra said drawing the word out. “How about combining the two? I’ve done a lot of work this morning. I cleaned up your dog’s messes. I weeded. I cleaned the pool and did the chemical thing.” He smiled at her.

She made a yuck face at his suggestion but then smirked as he rattled off his list of achievements. “Well look who’s Mr. Productive! You still enjoying the romance of homeownership? Not ready to outsource those tasks to someone like Ivan?” She smiled fully and then tilted her chin. “You sure about tuna  _ and _ bacon?” 

Ulquiorra shook his head. “How about tuna, tomato and lettuce sandwich? I’ll be up in a minute to help you, Veggs,” he said. “I’ve got to close the pool house door.”

“Okay,” she replied before turning back to the house and wheeling herself into the kitchen. She couldn’t reach the can of tuna and she was too injured to attempt climbing up on the counter to get it. Instead, she went over to a pad of paper they kept near the fridge for grocery lists and wrote 'stepstool' on it. 

He came in a moment later with his shirt thrown over one shoulder. He was grinning. “Stepstool,” he commented as he opened the refrigerator. “Shorty.”

“Hey, I have to live here. This isn’t exactly hobbit-scale furnishings,” she returned his grin. “C’mere, sweaty guy,” she said, beckoning him toward her for a kiss with a finger near her mouth.

He moved towards her quickly and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I don’t think I’d fit in right in the Shire. I’d look like Gandalf,” Ulquiorra murmured before he gave her a kiss, letting his hands roam over her back.

She kissed him back with a hummed chuckle and then broke it, asking, “Gandalf? Really? You’re way too sexy to be Gandalf.”

“Nice. You mentioned Ivan outside. What did his dumb ass do this time? Wait, is he coming for another visit?”

“Not that I know of. He was just here. I said that because he said he was your pool boy. Was he actually any help?”

Ulquiorra gave a one-shouldered shrug as he retrieved a can of tuna. “He kept me company,” was all he said.

Orihime’s brow rose. “Good company? How close did you two get?” she teased gently. She was curious though; Ulquiorra and Ichigo used to be oil and water. She took the can from Ulquiorra and pried the top off, draining the water from the can in the sink. “I mean, do you want to invite him back sometime?”

Ulquiorra snorted as he pulled a tomato and a head of lettuce out of the fridge, along with some pickles. “I’d much rather talk to my mother than let Ivan back here,” he replied. “But he was okay. It was nice just to hang out with someone and chill.”

Orihime nodded and decided to let the topic lie. “So, the question that has been burning in my mind all morning is about to become a matter of some urgency. Where do you want me to put my clothes? You’ve kind of monopolized the closet. And the dressers.”

“Well, that’s the thing. You see, when I remodeled the house, I had a second walk-in closet put in. This place was originally a five bedroom, four bath house. Now it’s a four bedroom and bath house. The room beside mine is your walk-in closet.”

She tilted her chin down and looked up at him from under disbelieving brows. “How did you manage to keep that quiet all this time?”

Again he shrugged as he cut the vegetables. “It was wishful thinking. I had it done with you in mind. There’s lingerie drawers and plenty of space for ball gowns. Uh, a shoe space, cubby thing. Uh...” Ulquiorra furrowed his brows. “After lunch I can take you downstairs to see it.”

Jesus fucking Christ, Orihime thought to herself. This guy. This fucking guy. She wheeled over to him and stood behind him, wrapping herself against his back and kissing his spine. “God, I love you,” she said in a breathy tone, then exhaled hard and squeezed him. To think that they almost gave up on each other… it had only been less than a week since restarting their relationship, and already she couldn’t imagine it any other way.

He put the knife down and shut his eyes, feeling tears prick at his eyes. There were times when Ulquiorra stared at the redhead, astonished by how much he loved her. It was overwhelming and took him by surprise. Slowly he turned in her arms. “I love you. I’m glad that you appreciate the gesture. If you hadn’t taken me back, I was going to fill it with my stuff. Maybe develop a taste for bad designer fashion. Get some Bad Habits of my own.” 

She surprised herself with a loud laugh. “What kind of Bad Habits? Fishnets? Latex bodysuits? Inquiring minds want to know.”

“Maybe if Miss behaves, I’ll give you a sneak peak at what I’ve got. It’s nothing really bad. I bought some silk boxer briefs and I have--” Ulquiorra could feel his face turning red. Actually saying what he bought was rather embarrassing.

“Oh no, no. You don’t get to dangle that and not tell me. Spill it!” she demanded with a wide grin. He was adorable when he was embarrassed.

He hemmed and hawed about it for a moment before he managed to get out the words. “A G-string thingy.”

Orihime’s face lit up like the sun and she wiggled her shoulders in glee. “This is a most pleasant surprise.” She closed her mouth and licked her upper lip as she imagined it, looking to the side and getting lost in the idea. “Something to look forward to,” she finally said, bringing her eyes back to his and smiling.

He blushed harder. “Pervert,” Ulquiorra stated. He smiled and turned around to finish what he was doing. “Is there anything else you want me to help you with in here?”

“Just getting down the stairs when Isane gets here. And getting back up. And going back down,” she sighed. “I think you will be much relieved when I can do stairs again.”

“You might be surprised, Veggs, but I like carrying you. I like helping you out. You’re not a burden to me.” Ulquiorra turned and kissed her temple before moving around her to grab a plate to put the cut up tomato and lettuce leaves on. “You’re at my mercy.”

Her eyes had followed him in bashful appreciation until his last line. Then she giggled. “You like having the upper hand, do you?”

Ulquiorra laughed and nodded. He went to sit down at the kitchen island and watched his girlfriend as she moved around the kitchen. “So you like Isane?” 

She hummed noncommittally. “I don’t know. She’s alright. She seems efficient, but she also seems kind of nervous, and… afraid of me? Isn’t that ridiculous? Who would be afraid of me?”

“I am,” he teased. “You might headbutt my kneecaps.”

“Ha ha, very funny.” She scoffed as she finished chopping up pickles and grabbed some mayo to add to the tuna. When it was all mixed and the sandwiches were assembled, she brought them over to the island. “Don’t suppose you could give me a lift?” she asked, although she was actually perfectly capable of getting her ass into the barstool at the kitchen island. She just wanted his hands on her.

He raised his eyebrows and looked at her. A slow smile spread across his face and Ulquiorra stood. Walking the few steps over to Orihime, he grabbed her waist and lifted her up, bypassing the stool and setting her on the countertop. He bit his lip and looked into her eyes, staring at her for a minute before kissing her mouth and making his way down to her neck. 

She sighed and cooed. This felt so nice. They had been so well behaved around each other up until now, too. She tilted her head to the side to allow him better access to her neck and slid her hands up and down his bare torso. She could feel her body responding to him the way it always had. He knew what to do. 

Ulquiorra took a deep breath before stepping back from Orihime. “Your leg,” he said, adrenaline running through his body, making him shiver. He had to have some iron willpower to say no to her. He’d been dreaming of and wanting this for months.

Orihime was in a negotiating frame of mind. “It’s just dangling right there; it’s  _ fine. _ It can stay out of the way. Come back,” she pleaded, holding a hand out to him. “We don’t have to do anything, um,  _ strenuous _ . Just come be close to me.”

He brought himself closer to her. She was tempting him. It would be so easy to take her up on what she was offering, but Ulquiorra knew if he was going to do anything to her, it was going to be hard and fast. “I could take you over to the couch and have my way with you,” he said against her ear in a low voice. “But that’s leaving Prinny open to get our lunch, and it looks delicious.” He gave the edge of her ear a quick nibble before he pulled back, setting her onto the stool next to him.

She wasn’t so easily deterred. “Yeah, that would be a real shame,” she said, tapping his shoulder. When he turned his face toward her marginally, she reached behind his neck and pulled his face to hers, kissing him deeply with all the pent up passion of several months. She whimpered as she plunged her tongue into his mouth and slid it against his for about a minute, then pulled back, wiped the side of her mouth with the back of her hand, and sat back. “Yeah, it’s not like we could put her outside or anything, it’s a real shame,” she said, breathless but casual.

Ulquiorra scowled at his sandwich. He was really trying to behave. She wasn’t making this easy though. He stood up and walked over to the door to the deck, sharply whistling. “Prinny, c’mon. Outside.”

The dog practically bounded out of the door at light speed and the male calmly shut it. Taking a deep breath, Ulquiorra walked back over to where Orihime was sitting and scooped her up like he always had since she had been with him. “Ready? Because we have a couple hours until your stuff gets here.”

“Good god, yes,” she replied. Her blood was on fire.

He took her downstairs and opened the bedroom door. Ulquiorra seemed to move with purpose as he put Orihime down on the bed and started to undress her. The sundress was easy to pull off her head, because he didn’t bother untying the straps that held it up. The underwear were more tricky. He bit his lip before he sank down to the floor on his knees between her legs. 

Orihime didn’t want him getting discouraged, so she took over from there, unhooking her bra and tossing it to the side, then scooting her underwear down her hips and thighs, until they got to her knees. She raised her good leg, freeing it and then just let the small garment dangle off the top of her boot. She didn’t care much for the details. When she was ready, she looked at him with a smoldering expression and said, “Fair is fair.”

“You pulled me away from lunch,” he stated with a chuckle. “It’s been months since I’ve done this to you.“ With that Ulquiorra leaned forward and pressed his lips against her pussy, his tongue snaking out to flick against her clit.

Orihime gasped and watched. The room felt warmer and darker as she fought with her eyelids to stay open; she wanted to see as much as she could, but her body wanted to focus on the sensation of his mouth on her. It had been a very, very long time since he had done this to her; a year or close to a year at least. She had forgotten how good it felt. It wasn’t long before she was panting and whining, her inner thighs shaking and her hands grasping his hair. “Oh god, Ulquiorra, I’m gonna--”

He smiled while his mouth was occupied and slipped two fingers into her. She was still tight as ever. Fuck. Just the thought of slipping his cock inside of her was almost enough to make him stop. “Come for me Vega,” he said before he started licking her again.

“Fuck!” she cried out as she did as he commanded, her body constricting around his fingers and her torso jerking over waves of pleasure. When the orgasm subsided, she was feeling fabulous but still unsatisfied. She panted and scooted further back on the mattress, then laid down and opened her legs for him again. “It’s your turn,” she said, one hand coming up to squeeze one of her own breasts as she licked her lips, staring up into his face.

Still wary of hurting her, Ulquiorra looked at Orihime. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’ve missed you so much,” she said, a slightly sad edge to her voice. “I need you. I need to be with you. I need to be yours again. Now.”

Those words sent pulses through his body and Ulquiorra climbed onto the bed, quickly shedding his shorts and boxers before he reached Orihime. He was a bit apprehensive as he lined his cock up with the entrance of her body. “I love you,” he said before thrusting his hips.

“I love you so much,” she cried back, her hands cupping his face so she could see his eyes. She looked deeply into them as he moved in her, repeating “I love you,” before pulling his face down to kiss him. She was feeling very emotional. She kept her hands on his neck, shoulders and face, trying to keep him close.

Ulquiorra kept his face near hers, breathing in her scent and liking how she sounded as he fucked her. “God, Orihime. I’m not going to last,” he moaned. This was months of build up and months of wanting; longing; waiting about to come to an end. 

“Hnngh,” she groaned. “I love you, Ulquiorra. Come inside me,” she begged, kissing him again and then panting into his ear. She loved how he felt inside of her. She loved the way he filled her and made her feel complete. “This is just the beginning,” she murmured as she heard his breathing become increasingly ragged. “I love you.”

Oh god. Her words sent another wave of pleasure through his brain. He was trying to hold back but everything was coming to an end and it was happening quickly. He hoped he could hold on for five more minutes. He didn’t last three. Ulquiorra dug his fingers into her hips as he slammed into Orihime one last time, choking out a moan.

He had been so focused on holding back that he hadn’t noticed Orihime coming gently on his dick. As he stilled, he could feel the ripples of her walls coaxing his cock to empty itself into her. She had been quiet this time, just small, hushed gasps and tiny moans that had been inaudible over the sound of his breath. She was still coming as her hands ran through his hair, pulling his head down to rest on her cheek after kissing him soundly. “I love you, Ulquiorra Cifer. I love you with every part of me. I’m so happy,” she said as tears started streaking down the sides of her face.

A chuckle left him as Ulquiorra breathed hard. “I love you, Orihime Inoue. You make me happy.”

***

Their happiness continued for the weeks that followed. Orihime got all of her possessions settled into the house and eventually was given a clean bill of health. Then one day, a Tuesday, a call came. Orihime answered and a strange man identified himself as Detective Patterson. He wanted to inform Orihime Inoue that Sosuke Aizen had been taken into police custody that morning and was being held on suspicion of attempted rape and battery. He was hoping that she could come down the station to identify the suspect from a line-up.

Orihime stopped breathing and dropped the phone onto the rug. She had fallen into life here in her new home so well that she was almost able to forget about what had happened. Now it all came slamming back down on her. “Ul--Ulquiorra?” she whimpered. “Ulquiorra!”

He heard Orihime. Dropping what he was doing, he ran to where she was. “What’s wrong? Oh my god! Orihime. Isane! Nanao!” He yelled, the panic evident in his voice.

Nanao got there first. She was the one who picked up Orihime’s phone, putting it to her ear. “Hello? Uh, sorry. Could you repeat that? What? Oh. Um, today? Oh. Sure. Absolutely, I understand. Bye.”

“Who was that? What is going on?” Ulquiorra asked, still tending to his girlfriend. He had her cradled in his arms, sitting on his lap.

“It was a detective. Aizen has been arrested.” Orihime brought her eyes to his slowly, tears rimming the bottom lids. So much time had gone by, and so much good had happened between the incident and now, that she had somewhat convinced herself that it had all been a bad dream. Now it was real again, and she didn’t know what to do.

“Aizen?” Ulquiorra thought this news would bring him joy. It didn’t, because this news was clearly distressing Orihime. Maybe she had pushed it to the back of her mind like he had done, deciding to play happy home instead of dealing with their reality.

“Come on, Orihime, let’s get you some tea and a sweater. Would you prefer to wear something else? Nanao, I take it from what I heard that we’re wanted downtown?” Isane said, taking on the role of a soothing, maternal presence seamlessly.

The other assistant nodded. “If she doesn’t come down today… They can only hold Aizen for so long. I take it you two didn’t talk to a therapist or a doctor about the psychological trauma that happened to her, did you?” She directed this question to Ulquiorra.

“Look, I was not going to force her to remember. I slept beside her and I heard what she went through. Before I did that I was the one who got up at night with her. Don’t fucking tell me how we should have coped with this! I did the best I could,” Ulquiorra snapped.

Nanao huffed and set Orihime’s phone on the nearest table. “What’s going to happen when she has to face him during a trial?”

Orihime felt Ulquiorra bristle and shrink at the same time. She put her hands on his upper arms, wrapping her fingers snugly around the muscle. “You did exactly what I needed you to do,” she whispered, dropping her forehead into his clavicle, then turning to face Nanao. 

“I will talk to Dr. Tristan again. I can do this. It’s just…” she paused. “It’s just my illusion of this peaceful life just shattered. I’ll be fine. I just,” she huffed and took a few deep breaths. “I just didn’t expect to hear this today.” Her words were a lot braver than her tone of voice was.

Ulquiorra wrapped his arms around Orihime’s body in a protective way, as if he could shield her from Nanao’s judging stare. “Baby,” he said to Orihime. “Vega, I will be right beside you. He can’t hurt you if he is behind bars.”

She nodded into his cheek and replied, “You’re right. You’re right. I know you’re right.” She took a few more deep breaths and brought her neck up straight, so she wasn’t cowering like she had been, but still kept her cheek touching his face, climbing into his lap a bit to do it.

He kept his arms around her as Isane helped him stand. “We’re going to do what Isane said, okay? Let’s get some of that nice green tea you bought and then we’ll get dressed. After we’re done, I’ll take ya out for milkshakes,” Ulquiorra said as he lifted her.

She gave him a squeeze. “Alright. Isane, is the--”

The assistant had already set two cups of steaming water on the counter and dropped a teabag into each one. “Is there anything you’d like me to pull from your closet, Orihime?”

“Um,” she looked at Ulquiorra and back to her assistant. “First, I know I never do this, but do we have any honey for the tea? I feel like something sweet would help, somehow. And for clothes… leggings and that long athletic shirt with the long sleeves; the black one with the thumbholes in the sleeves.”

Isane nodded, having already pulled the honey out of a cupboard and a spoon and set them on the counter, before going downstairs to pull the garments Orihime had requested.

Ulquiorra looked at Nanao, who scoffed. “Why don’t you do shit like that for me?” His question was answered with a sigh as she went to get Princess from outside.

***

Orihime sat in a folding chair one in a dimly lit room, looking at the see-through side of a pane of one-way glass. She had her freshly healed leg crossed over the other one and was propping her chin up in her hand. She worried her foot and gnawed on the side of her thumb as she waited. 

She looked up at her boyfriend, who was standing to the side of her with a hand on her shoulder. “Thanks for being here,” she said softly, her free hand coming up to cover his.

Ulquiorra didn’t say anything at first, his response to her thanks was his grip tightening where it lay. “You can do this. Just pick him out and we’ll be done here. I love you.”

She opened her mouth to respond, but the detective and another officer opened the door and began to speak to her, telling her how this would work. A group of men would file into the room on the other side of the glass and she would be asked if any one of the men in the line-up was her attacker. That was all. 

Orihime nodded. “I’m ready.”

The detective spoke into a microphone, telling someone to send in the first group. 

Orihime didn’t mean to, but she closed her eyes tightly as soon as the door on the other side of the glass opened. She kept them tightly closed until the detective asked her. “Are any of these men your attacker?”

Slowly, one eye at a time, she opened them, scanning the line-up of middle-aged men with dark hair in front of her. 

Something was wrong. 

“He’s not there. Aizen isn’t there,” she said in a worried tone.

“It’s alright. We’ll send in the next group,” the detective said, speaking into the microphone again as he said, “Next.”

This time Orihime’s eyes were open as a line of men filed into the room. She didn’t need to wait for them to turn around. She saw his profile and she gasped, pushing back against the back of the chair as her feet scrambled to stand.

“That’s him. That’s Aizen,” she said to the detective with a frenetic, urgent tone as she pointed to the man with nutbrown hair.

“Just a moment, please, Miss Inoue,” the detective said calmly, then spoke again into the microphone, “face forward, please.”

The men turned around. Orihime felt like Aizen’s eyes found her immediately. She was finding it hard to take a full breath.

“Which number is your attacker standing under, Miss Inoue?”

“Number five. Sosuke Aizen is standing under the number five,” she said, sounding like she was looking at a demon or a ghost.

“Thank you,” the detective said into the microphone and then the line of men left the room, and the room went dark on the other side of the glass. 

“Thank you Miss Inoue, that’s all we needed today,” the detective said, holding out a hand to her to shake it. “We’ll be in touch.”

“How was he caught?” Ulquiorra asked the other man.

“He had been giving voice lessons in a pageant training course. One of the girls was the daughter of one of the detectives in my unit. He only has visitation with her on the weekends and when he found out that the vocal coach was getting too hands-on, he went ballistic. His little girl is only sixteen. Wants to be Miss California. Her mom is crazy and thought paying some skeezy outfit to get ahead was a smart idea. Anyway, Conway went with his daughter the next time and recognized him from the investigation file. He was going by the name Kevin Cartwright. Arrested him late last night.”

Ulquiorra shook his head; the guy didn’t fucking learn. “Thank you, sir. Come on, Orihime. You deserve ice cream for doing this today.” He had more plans than just to get her ice cream. She deserved a new bad habit or maybe a spa day.

“Thank you, detective,” she said and put her hand in Ulquiorra’s, following him silently.

Nanao was waiting in the driver seat of his SUV. Ulquiorra helped Orihime into the back seat and climbed in after her. “Where to now?” She asked.

“Milk’s, and then after that I’ll tell you where to go,” Ulquiorra replied. “Actually we’ll go to La Perla after the milkshakes.”

***

Ulquiorra watched Orihime’s face as they walked into the upscale lingerie boutique. He had to wonder if she had ever been to a place like this. She had been so brave and was holding up so well after seeing Aizen, weeks after the attack. She deserved something for putting on a strong face. “Pick out something,” he said to her and sat down on a cushioned bench while the assistants walked around with his girlfriend.

Orihime’s eyes were wide as saucers as she browsed the racks. Everything in this place was gorgeous and made of the softest materials. Her eyes were immediately drawn to a long white silk robe, and she ran her hand down the sleeve, getting goosebumps at how impossibly smooth it felt. As she was fondling it, a small tag fell out of the sleeve and she almost fell down. She backed away quickly and moved onto something that looked less like it cost nearly two thousand dollars. 

She took a moment to consider what to do, here. She knew Ulquiorra probably would want to appear generous, given the events of the day, and she didn’t want to make a stink about it either. This would be a job better suited to Isane than Nanao, she thought as she approached her assistant and asked her to discreetly inquire with the staff which items were more budget-friendly.

Isane returned a moment later and gently guided her toward a section of pretty bras and panties made out of lace, with not a lot to them. The lacework was exquisite, though. 

Ulquiorra had told Nanao to send a saleswoman over to him as soon as she could. He was on his phone looking at things that Orihime might like, picking out two silk pajama halter top and shorts sets. The woman assisting him also told him Orihime had been looking at a robe. Sure, it wasn’t budget-friendly lingerie, but she deserved it. With the songs he was writing with Wonderweiss, Ulquiorra had income rolling in. He still made revenue off of merchandise and album sales. Obscuras IV was due to make some appearances at parades and another New Years Eve show, this time in New York. 

  
  
He told the saleswoman to ring up the things he wanted.

Orihime liked what she was looking at, but couldn’t decide which color she wanted. “Ulquiorra,” she called. “Do you like beige, white, or red?”

He walked over to the group of ladies, “Pick out whatever you want, Orihime. Buy a robe, a nighty, or a bra and panty set.”

She threw loaded looks at the assistants and with a quick shift of her eyes she was able to communicate that she needed a moment of privacy. After the women had stepped back enough to speak to him unheard, she said, “What I want is a set of these in a color that will start your engine, so tell me, which of these does the trick?” she said with a slightly embarrassed grin.

“Oh, is that it?” He smiled at her. “Anything you wear starts my engine, so to speak. Pick out whatever pleases you--”

“Sir?”

The sales lady had come back with a black folder. Ulquiorra opened it up and signed the thin strip of paper inside then closed it with a snap. He handed it back and turned to Orihime. “Whatever you want will please me.” 

He had to make this difficult. She groaned, and finally went with the beige. Normally it was a boring color, but she didn’t have anything like it and it was a very pretty, almost pinky-almond beige. “Okay, this one,” she said.

“This too?” the employee said. 

Ulquiorra gave a nod. He avoided the questioning gaze of the redhead and smiled. “Nan? Best place to get a pedicure?”

“Do I look like my name is Alexa?”

He laughed at his assistant’s reply.

“Ulquiorra, I think I’d rather just go home, today. We can hang out in the hot tub and just unwind. I could use that,” Orihime said with a contrite smile. It was sweet what he was doing for her, but she felt drained.

Understanding what she meant, Ulquiorra signed the next slip of paper and took the posh looking shopping bags from another sales associate. “I know. It’s been a hard day for you. I just wanted you to know that from time to time I can and will spoil you.”

She mouthed the word, “Thank you,” to him, and kissed his cheek. “Just don’t let me get too used to it, okay?” she said with a chuckle.

He smiled at her. “You did great today, Orihime. I’m proud that you kept it together.”


	8. Resolution

The day of the sentencing hearing, Orihime felt sick to her stomach. Aizen had been found guilty of felony aggravated battery and sexual battery. Each count carried a maximum prison term of four years.

Four years. Eight in total. It wasn’t enough.

The prosecuting attorney had assured Orihime that this wasn’t where the legal options ended. There were potential molestation charges against him from the pageant classes. He had been informed that there was a pending federal identity theft case against Aizen for using Nemu’s accounts after her death. There was also an FBI investigation relative to the information obtained from Michelle’s computer and Nemu’s confession. Those cases could possibly take years to wrap up, but if the judge threw the book at Aizen today, he’d be in prison long enough for those cases to conclude. 

Still, as she sat in a conference room near the courtroom, she shook. She didn’t want to be in the courtroom with him again. When she testified against him a few weeks ago, he had sat next to his attorney with a smug look on his face. It made her sick.

Her cross-examination was awful. Aizen’s attorney tried to spin a tale of a wanton ex-student who couldn’t keep her hands off Aizen’s dick. Luckily she had had lots of experience being dragged through the mud; this lawyer didn’t stand a chance against her thick skin and the district attorney’s objections. Still, it was a draining, demeaning experience.

What made her more sick than anything, though, is when she learned why she was escorted away from the courtroom after her cross examination. The DA purposely didn’t tell her who the defense’s first witness was.

Claire fucking Cartwright.

Orihime didn’t even bother to read the court transcript. That woman was nothing to her anymore. She could rot in hell. She was probably in the courtroom right now, holding Aizen’s shoulder from behind him, lending him moral support.

She wished she was strong enough to be in that room now, where Ulquiorra sat, waiting to hear the judge’s final words.

“All rise.”

The judge sat and gave a scathing overview of what he thought were the facts of the case and how Aizen had been found guilty. “For the felony count of aggravated battery, I hereby sentence you to four years imprisonment. For the felony count of sexual battery, I hereby sentence you to an additional four years imprisonment. Sentence to include time served and shall commence immediately. Bailiff, please turn the defendant over to police custody. This case is concluded. Thank you counsel.”

When Ulquiorra came into the conference room to deliver the news, Orihime sobbed.

He had sat in the courtroom every day that Orihime couldn’t. Sometimes she wasn’t prepared for it. Other times, the guy trying to get the book thrown at Aizen didn’t want her there. He saw that bitch walk in when the defense called her as a witness. Ulquiorra sneered at the spinster aunt who was probably trying to ride Aizen’s dick. She sneered back. The whore looked too well put together for Ulquiorra’s taste. She was probably spending Orihime’s money.

Maybe he’d put a little bug in someone’s ear that Claire Cartwright was a fraud.

After the trial, Gin approached Ulquiorra.

“Fine day isn’t it?” the squinty-eyed motherfucker said.

Ulquiorra was already bored with the conversation. He knew Gin wanted something. “What is it, snake?”

“You wound me, Ulq. It’s a shame your mom spends more time on the East coast than she does back here.” Gin smirked and fingered some knobs on the control panel. “So, we want you to do a duet.”

“A duet?

“Mmmhmm, you and Vega Highwell… or whatever she’s calling herself this week.”

Ulquiorra scoffed. “What song?” he asked.

When Gin told him and showed him the lyrics, Ulquiorra told the CEO that he had to think about it and he would get back to him. He listened to the song several times while a teenager, and had revisited it while he and his girlfriend were broken up. He spent the rest of the day thinking about it, deciding to talk to Orihime if Soul Society ever asked her about it.

That very day, Urahara came sauntering into a sound booth while Orihime was recording a song for her new album. “So, Hime-chan, I have a proposition for you…”

He presented her with the same proposal that Gin and presented to Ulquiorra. Turns out, the two men went way back, and although they had a falling out a couple decades ago, what they had lost in terms of personal connection they had made up for over time with professional courtesy. Urahara told Orihime about the song. She knew it.

She had considered recording it for her YouTube channel at one point. She was glad she had decided against it at that time. Still, she would love to do a project with Ulquiorra, especially one officially sanctioned by their labels. 

When she got home that evening, she snuggled with Princess for a bit, got changed, and made a nice salad and some chicken. Ulquiorra came home forty-five minutes later. She had dinner on the table and a question on her lips.

“Did they tell you what they want us to sing?”

Ulquiorra was still in the hallway putting his stuff down when he looked up at Orihime. “Yeah, if you know about it, I take it the good music fairies paid you a visit at work today?”

She laughed at his characterization and nodded. “Yep. What do you think?”

He gave her a kiss and shook his head. “Dinner first, then we can talk shop. Okay, Prinny. Pet the puppy first, then feed the puppy, unless Mommy already fed your big--Ow! Get off my foot, dog!”

“She was outside until just now, so you can feed her,” Orihime replied.

Ulquiorra did just that, with the big dog trying to help by almost knocking him over. He had to kick her out of the pantry where her food was kept several times. When he was done with that task, he wrapped his arms around Orihime’s waist. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear. “I would really like to hear your thoughts about it, first.”

“Well, I’m hesitant for only one reason. I’ll tell you the reasons I want to do it first. One, I really want to sing with you, like I said. Two, it really is a great, beautiful song…” she trailed off.

He turned her around so that Orihime was looking at him. “What I am about to say, I don’t want you to take to heart, okay?”

“Okay,” she said, biting her lip in nervous anticipation.

“I like the song. I do. I listened to it a couple years ago, but it had no meaning. That changed the moment I met you, Orihime. There were times when we were broken up that I hated that I loved you. I hated that I was so attached to you. There are so many lines in that song that hit home for me; for us, and maybe if this was six months ago, I would have said, sure I'll record it. Things have changed. I love that I love you. I love you. I think we could co-write a song together and sing it.” Ulquiorra peered at her then sighed.

She smiled and also sighed, but hers was a relieved sort of breath. “I am in a similar frame of mind. I listened to this song a lot, before we even met. It reminded me of how I felt about Nel. I was very attached to you when we only knew each other online; some might say it was an unhealthy amount of attachment. But all you talked about was her. And after we got together, it was worse. And after the party at Tier’s… God. I knew I could never hold a candle to Nel. She was always first place. It was like that song was written for me at that time. Of course I don’t feel that way anymore, but I’m slightly worried that it’s going to open old wounds. I dunno. Maybe we’re past all that? I love you and I know you love me.” 

Ulquiorra kissed her, backing her up against the wall. “You have no clue how much I love you. I don’t want to sing someone else’s song. I want to sing our song.”

She held him close to her and gazed into his face with wide, soft eyes. “I want to make our songs. I love you so much that sometimes it feels like a slap in the face,” she said with a chuckle, then kissed him again.

He bit his lip and then smiled. “Uh, same, Veggs. Hard fucking same. Let’s eat and then we can get to work?”

***

Ulquiorra was nervous as he, Orihime and his bandmates sat in the huge arena. He and Orihime had been busy for the past several weeks. Their respective labels had agreed to them writing and singing a song together since they rejected the proposed song. Since the movie that wanted the song wasn’t done filming yet, they still were working on it.

There were creative differences. It was normal. There had been times that Ulquiorra had gotten so fed up with things that he’d storm out of the studio, cool down and come back to Orihime. He knew this wasn’t going to be an easy road for them.

  
  
Tonight was hopefully going to be a big night for Obscuras IV. The Grammy Awards. They were up for Best New Artist and Best Rock Performance. They missed several other categories by several thousand votes. It was okay. They were going to be performing at this show of shows. He kept fidgeting in his seat.

“Ugh why can’t we just fast forward to the awards I really care about?” he quietly asked Orihime as he politely clapped as another musician won an award.

“Cool your jets, Hotshot,” Orihime murmured to him as she clapped, then took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Give everybody else a chance.” She smiled at him and looked forward.

During the last month or so, Ulquiorra’s diva side had really reared its ugly head. Orihime mostly took it in stride, but even she lost her patience from time to time. She had developed a very good friendship with her boyfriend’s assistant, and when she couldn’t take it anymore, they’d go out and get manicures or have lunch and bitch about him until they felt better. The lead up to tonight’s ceremony was no different; with Ulquiorra panicking for no reason when he couldn’t find a cuff link that was right in front of him and bitching about being on time. Nanao had helped Orihime get dressed along with Isane and they tried to convince one another that it would be better tomorrow. Nanao wasn’t so sure. Orihime knew. As she thought about it, she looked at Ulquiorra dressed formally beside her and tried not to swoon. Despite his difficult behavior, she still thought he was the sky.

“I still think you should be up there for something,” he muttered to her, rolling his eyes as some Social Media Whore of a celebrity accepted the award.

“It’s alright. I’m not doing it for the accolades, I’m doing it for music, remember?” She kept telling him this whenever her lack of recognition compared to his came up. It was to be expected, though. He started out with a huge social media following. His label aggressively marketed him as the next big thing. The next big thing is indeed what he became. Soul Society had been more Orihime’s speed, and she never regretted it.

It was crazy. Ulquiorra had cartoonish figurines of himself. There were t-shirts with his face on them. There were crazy women who got his face tattooed on their bodies. He was hounded by cameras wherever he went. He was half tempted to ask Urahara to sign him so he didn’t have to be the face of Espada Records. “It’s still not fair. Your album was wonderful,” he complained.

She grinned and whispered, “I know it was! The next one will be, too. And when music nerds start doing analysis videos of my career on YouTube, they’ll talk about how _Vega_ was actually a better album than its more commercially accepted successor, _Altair,”_ she giggled. He didn’t know that that was what she was planning to call her next album. She was almost finished recording it, too. It had been put on hold while they wrote their duet.

“We should knock them dead with Vega IV,” he said with a grin before noticing his face was one on the giant screens. Ulquiorra automatically dropped the smile. “I hate this.”

“Oh, live it up, Ernie. This is your time to shine. Let the people see what a sweetheart you are when you’re not trying to prove anything,” she said, beaming at the cameras before they cut away to someone else.

An hour later, Ulquiorra sat up straighter in his seat. “Presenting Best New Artist, please welcome Rangiku Matsumoto from It’s Ran!”

The blonde stood at the microphone and smiled as the applause died down. “Wow, it’s been quite a year hasn’t it? I mean, at least it was for me. It’s been a great year for the music industry - so many new acts - but only one can win this award.”

Rangiku named off four other bands in addition to Obscuras IV. The YouTube celebrity paused for a moment as she opened the envelope. “A big congratulations to my fellow YouTube star, Obscuras IV.”

The noise as people cheered and clapped was deafening in his ears, and Ulquiorra just sat there, dumbstruck.

Orihime squealed and threw her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek with glee. “Congratulations, Babe!” she squeaked into his ear before backing up. On seeing his failure to move, she gave his back a little push. “Go on, go up there! You deserve this. Go!” she encouraged with a wide smile.

Aaron and Ggio were pushing him to his feet and he looked down at Orihime before leaving his seat and walking up the aisle up to the stage. He took the heavy award from Rangiku with a smile. He waited for her to move so that he could make this speech. “Um,” another round of cheers stopped him. “Thank you. Um, I want to thank, um, Oetsu, Wonderweiss, Aaron and Ggio who dealt with me being a butthead while on tour. Nanao for putting up with me. The people at Espada Records, my dad… I want to thank Vega Highwell, without her… I wouldn’t be on this stage. She helped nurture this passion I have for music. She helped keep me alive. Thank you, Orihime. I love you.”

Orihime beamed with pride as she dabbed tears from the corners of her eyes.

He was led to the backstage area, and was joined by Ggio and Aaron who were already changed into their outfits for their stage performance.

***

“I think it’s ready,” Orihime said, looking at Ulquiorra with a weary expression.

He looked over the sheet music and the lyrics and sighed. “Are you sure? I mean...” another sigh.

“We can run it past Wonderweiss or Kenpachi. They are both great lyricists. The music is on point. What do you think?”

“Ya both have done a great job,” Oetsu said. “We’ve been going around this merry go round for months. It’s time to do this or put it away, Ulq.”

Glancing at the black man, Ulquiorra scowled and then turned back to Orihime. “Kenpachi doesn’t really strike me as a person who could write a love song. Maybe an angry death metal thrasher piece.”

She shook her head. “He co-wrote three songs on my album. Did you hear any angry songs on it? He’s got a gift.” She sighed. “It’s neither here nor there, though. I love it. Oetsu loves it. What don’t you love about it?” she asked.

“I want it to be perfect. I’m scared it’ll be ripped apart by the music critics.”

“Man, anymore perfect and ya’ll are gonna be hanging this song in the Louvre. Just shut up, hang up your damn insecurities and sing,” the producer said. He picked up his phone and tapped the screen. “Eyy, Weiss, is that Kenny guy witcha? Come on up. Nah. Cifer’s getting cold feet.”

“I’m not getting cold feet!” Ulquiorra ran his hands through his hair, feeling frustrated. “Do you really love it, Orihime?”

“I love it. I think you love it, too, and that’s why you’re being overprotective. Let our baby grow up and go out into the world, Ulquiorra,” she joked.

“Fine. Let’s do this,” Ulquiorra said and stood, gathering the music sheets. “You can call Dumb and Dumber in here now. Inform Ivan he’s Dumber by the way.”

“Don’t talk about my favorite golden retriever of a pianist that way,” Orihime scolded as she went out of the room with bad cell phone reception and called Ichigo.

***

Ulquiorra looked at his mother and father with an open mouth. “What the hell do you mean you’re pregnant and I’m going to have a fucking sister?”

His mother rolled her eyes. Jon was smiling like an idiot. “Well, Ulq, when two people love--”

“Oh my god! No! You’re old! You two don’t need to be having kids! You’re gonna be in wheelchairs and--”

“We also got remarried.”

“WHAT?” he shouted. Ulquiorra felt like his entire world had just been ruined. “But… but...Ugh. Do you hear this shit Orihime?”

Orihime didn’t know whether to laugh or swear. “I hear it. I’m just not sure I’m hearing it right,” she said quietly. She looked away from her boyfriend and at his parents. They looked happy. She had never seen Maria Cifer look more genuine and close to serene. Jon looked like a young man in love. He looked like Ulquiorra. It warmed her heart. “Congratulations, guys. I’m really happy for you. When is the baby due?” she asked with a small smile, her hand rubbing Ulquiorra’s thigh under the table in a soothing fashion.

“Around November,” Jon replied. “Thank you Orihime. At least one person is happy for us. Think about it, Ulq!”

“So what? You’re going to close down the cafe and bakery and move out here?”

Jon shook his head. “I actually sold the bakery and coffee shop to Renji, Shawn, some guy who likes orange, and that Momo girl you used to like in elementary school. I sold the house to Steve, and yes, I price gouged him for it.”

“With all the remodeling and the space, your dad got one point two million for it,” Maria butted in.

“But why? Why start over again--” Ulquiorra saw it. He saw why his dad had risked everything to be with his mother again. It was the same reason he would walk over hot coals for Orihime. His parents had found love again. He looked over at his girlfriend and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. “You two are nuts,” he said.

Orihime gave Ulquiorra a knowing glance. They would have done the same thing. Maybe not the midlife baby, but still… No matter what happened, there was that special bond between them that was never fully severed, and with a little bit of nurturing, became an almost all-powerful force. Jon and Maria had it. She and Ulquiorra had it. Maybe they were all nuts. “I have an announcement, too,” Orihime said quietly.

Ulquiorra looked at his girlfriend in surprise. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her questioningly. 

“Am I going to be a grandfather?” Jon asked. The words made Ulquiorra splutter.

Orihime could be downright evil when she wanted to be. This was one of those moments. She hadn’t planned it this way, but the timing came together and she thought it would be nice to surprise everyone while Ulquiorra’s parents were there. Her phone had buzzed during their conversation. Isane was waiting outside in her car. “I’ll be right back, and then you’ll have your answer,” she said, walking towards the front door.

Ulquiorra didn’t know what the hell was going on. As far as he knew, Orihime was still on birth control and had just renewed it or something. He didn’t go to the doctors with her. He still worried while his parents gave him a hard stare.

She came back into the house about five minutes later. In her arms was a teeny tiny white and red bundle of fluff. Princess was prancing around Orihime’s feet as she approached the table and sat down with it. “This is your baby brother, Prinny. Meet Adonis!”

“Oh my god. What is that? Is that a guinea pig, Veggs?” Ulquiorra asked, looking at the animal. Princess was still trying to nose what was in her owner’s lap. “Princess, down!”

“Boof!”

“I don’t care! Your poop piles are bigger than that thing!” he yelled at the big dog. Ulquiorra looked at Orihime. “You know when you said you were getting a dog named Adonis, I kinda imagined a Great Dane or another Malamute, not a rat with fur.”

“Oh come on, he’ll grow to be about thirty pounds. And look and his cute widdle face, and the ginormous bat ears” she cooed, bringing the corgi puppy’s tiny nose to her face and giving it a kiss. “Say hi to grandma and grandpa,” she said, turning the fluffball around.

Ulquiorra just rolled his eyes at the bat ears comment.

***

The call came three months later in the middle of October. Ulquiorra answered Orihime’s phone. She was busy playing with the dogs while he lounged by the pool. He could hear Adonis yapping at Princess.

The two dogs became best friends, and it was funny to see the small dog curled up on the bigger one. 

  
  
Things were going great for the both of them. They got the news their song had been nominated for several awards. Ulquiorra was working with Kenpachi and a woman named Cirucci on the next Obscuras IV album. Aaron and Ggio finally admitted they both were together.

Everything was perfect… Until today.

“Orihime Inoue?”

“No this is her significant other, can I take a message?”

“This is Ben Harris, I was the prosecuting attorney on the federal case against Sosuke Aizen.”

Was? Ulquiorra scowled as he heard that word. “Okay? And?”

“Miss Inoue wanted me to notify her when the verdict and sentencing came in, so if you could tell her to give me a ring, I’ll be here until seven tonight.”

“Wait a minute. Let me go find her.” Ulquiorra got up and walked around the property until he found the redhead. “Hey, a lawyer is on the phone.”

The color drained from her face. “What did he say?” Ulquiorra explained and handed back the phone.

“Attorney Harris? This is Orihime Inoue,” she said in a shaky voice. There was a pause. “Yes.” she said, her voice tentative. “Yes,” this time a bit breathier. “Oh, I understand. Right… Of course. Thank you so much for calling.” She hung up and looked at Ulquiorra with an unreadable expression for a moment, and then her face crumpled and she slowly sunk to her knees on the grass as a sob wracked through her body.

“Orihime? What’s wrong? What’s the matter?”

“Thirty years. He got thirty years,” she looked up at him with a tortured smile. “Thirty years on top of the seven he has left. He won’t get out until he’s eighty-five.”

“Woah, Aizen got thirty eight years? This is good news!”

Orihime nodded. “It’s over. It’s finally over.” She pulled herself up with Ulquiorra’s assistance and kissed him. “It’s over,” she breathed, letting him hold her up.


	9. Epilogue: Coda

It was January thirty-first at four in the afternoon. Ulquiorra was getting ready, his tuxedo already on. They had to be at the arena soon. Once again, the green-eyed musician was a bundle of nerves. Urahara had let them use the pool house to get ready for tonight’s award show. He looked at his girlfriend and smiled.

He couldn’t help think about the memories this place brought back; happy ones and even the sad ones. A lot had happened in the past four years, most of it happening in the past two. It was really for the best. 

Nel had several more years to spend in prison. His mom and dad were raising his infant sister in Malibu. Prinny and Donny were buddies. Obscuras IV were working on a new album and added Grimmjow to their roster to remix some songs.

He had been with Orihime for a long time, but it didn’t seem long enough. He wanted it to be forever. Ulquiorra was also nervous because he had a surprise for Orihime tonight.

“You look beautiful,” he said, kissing her neck. “We need to get in the limo, Woman.”

“You look pretty dapper yourself,” she said to his reflection in the mirror. “I’m almost ready; I have to get these earrings in and we can go.”

Orihime had had an eventful couple of months. Altair was released, and as predicted, it was a lot more successful than Vega. It was because of Altair that she was up for a solo award tonight. She went on a short, two-legged tour for it, one on the west coast again and another on the east coast. Ulquiorra had come along for much of it. The venues were bigger. The crowds were bigger. Orihime had to accept the help and support of her label and learned to appreciate it. She had a social media manager now. She had a stylist now, who was getting her make-up bag packed up to bring along to the ceremony tonight for touch-ups.

These were all great accomplishments, but something else had happened that was unexpected. One afternoon in the middle of December, she got a call from a lawyer in Minnesota.

“Miss Inoue?”

“Yes?”

“I regret to inform you that your aunt, Claire Cartwright, has passed away.”

“Oh.”

Orihime felt numb when she heard the news. She told Ulquiorra about it later that evening. They discussed how her reaction was probably the best she could do, given how horrible the woman had been to her. Despite the fact that her only blood relative was now dead, Orihime didn’t feel a sense of loss. Ulquiorra and Dr. Tristan helped her to see that her reaction was healthy. 

It eased Orihime’s scant guilt that Claire had left her entire estate to Aizen, not that he had anything to use it for. Maybe it would go toward attorney fees which remained unpaid. Maybe to pay off civil suit litigants; Hailey and the other girls from OSU had started a new lawsuit on top of Byakuya Kuchiki’s.

After her aunt’s death, the bank in San Francisco that administered her parents’ trust called her and informed her that her monthly stipend would now be sent directly to an account of her choosing. They also told her that the remainder of the trust was still intact; her parents’ lawyer had written it well, and with the exception of the monthly stipends that Claire had pocketed, she had no access to the rest of the trust. They advised her to set an appointment for a time on or after her twenty-second birthday so that the balance of the trust funds could be disbursed to her. 

They also advised that there was a safety-deposit box at the bank that the trust paid for, and if she would like, she could come and examine the contents at any time.

So, a week afterward, Orihime and Ulquiorra had taken a trip up to San Francisco and had a look. She couldn’t believe what was inside. There were birth certificates, her parents’ wedding certificate, her father’s Japanese passport. There were also pictures of relatives she didn’t know she ever had in Japan. There were pictures of her as a baby, her as a toddler, and her with her mother and father. Urahara was right; she looked almost exactly like her mother.

There was also a portable USB drive. She pocketed it and brought it home. When they got back, she popped it into her laptop on the living room coffee table and had a look. It was full of digital photos and video. Her baptism. Kisuke hadn’t been lying; he was there looking decades younger! Her first birthday. Her first steps. She was in tears watching her parents hug and kiss her and tell her they loved her. By the time she had had enough, she was shaking and overly emotional. She didn’t think she would ever know her parents. Now she knew, and she knew she loved them even though they were gone. As Ulquiorra held her that night, she knew she had what she needed, though. He was her family now. He and Prin and Donny and Jon and baby Evelyn and even Maria; they were everything she ever needed. Kenta and Allison would have been happy for her.

“Okay, I’m ready,” she said as she got the huge, borrowed earrings into her lobes.

***

Once again, Obscuras IV won an award, this time for their cover of Depeche Mode’s, Enjoy the Silence. His fingers were crossed for Orihime. He probably cheered the loudest as she won Best Pop Solo performance. He remained standing until she reached the stage.

She was blown away that she had won. She never in a million years expected it, so she hadn’t prepared any words. She cleared her throat and had to have the microphone adjusted down for her. She laughed in self-deprecation and said, “Well, I guess I’m short everywhere,” which was met with mild laughter from the audience. “Um, I never expected this, but thank you. Thanks to everyone at Soul Society, especially Urahara Kisuke and Yoruichi Shihouin, who provided the guidance I needed. Thanks to Isane and Nanao for always taking great care of me. Thanks to my co-writer, Ken Zaraki, my band, and my accompanist and friend, Ichigo Kurosaki; and to my late parents, Kenta and Allison, to Jon and Maria and Evie and Prin and Donny and especially to my real life Altair, my heart, my rock, and my best friend, Ulquiorra Cifer. I wouldn’t be who I am without you. I love you, Ernie,” she said as someone approached to escort her off the stage.

Ulquiorra knew the cameras were on him. His eyes were glassy from the tears that were threatening to spill out. He managed to not let them drip down his face by leaning his head back and blinking his eyes. It was amazing that this redhead-this woman-could still bring him to tears. She was the only person to make him cry tears of joy. When the cameras were directed elsewhere in the crowd, Nanao handed him a tissue.

The show went on until they were getting into the lesser known categories. “The award for Best Song Written for Visual Media goes to,” a comedian had to pause as his co-presenter almost dropped the envelope.

This was it. Obscuras IV and Vega Highwell were nominated for their song, _What is the Heart?_ for the soundtrack to the movie by the same name. The director was so moved by the music, the guy changed the title of the film. 

“Can we get on with it?” The male asked the other announcer, just as the flap popped open. The crowd laughed. “Obscuras IV and Vega Highwell and their hit, What is the Heart!”

Ulquiorra jumped up and pulled Orihime to him. They had won!

Orihime was over the moon. All that hard work. All that frustration. It had all been worth it. The song was so great because it was so real and raw. Orihime and Ulquiorra had sunk their guts into it and had created something beautiful together. This award meant much more to her than the solo one she had received earlier.

He walked with her hand in hand up to the stage, and Ulquiorra let Orihime up the stairs first as he made sure she could walk in her gown without tripping. When he got to the podium, he bent down to the mic and said, “If you guys only knew what went into that song that Vega and I wrote, you’d probably pull your hair out like she almost did,” he said, making a joke. “Um, I wanna thank Espada Records and Soul Society Music Group for letting us work together. I want to thank Vega and…” Ulquiorra looked at Orihime before he smiled at her. He got down on one knee in front of the crowd inside of the arena and pulled out a ring from his pocket.

A gasp went through the crowd as he presented the ring to the redhead. “Orihime, Vega, my Hermione, will you become my forever and be my wife?” 

She gasped and covered her mouth with her free hand; the other was held in his. Her eyes filled with tears, which she blinked away wildly as she nodded. She removed her hand from her mouth, revealing a brilliant smile, and cleared the drops from her eyes. “Yes. Yes. Oh, please yes,” she sputtered as she tried to pull him to standing.

He stood and kissed her while the crowd started clapping and cheering again. She threw her arms around his neck and when this kiss was broken, she whispered into his ear, “I’m so happy. I love you, Ulquiorra. Forever and always.”

***

They were married on December 28th at their house in Malibu. Ulquiorra couldn’t believe how beautiful she looked as she walked across the yard to him. It was a simple ceremony with only a handful of guests; family and friends. 

After the formalities were done, Ulquiorra watched as Adonis kept harassing Grimmjow, and Princess thought she was a lapdog by sitting on his dad’s lap. Ichigo came over to him with a grin on his face. It was one of Ulquiorra’s favorite games to play; the one when he asked, “What stupid nonsense is going to come out of your mouth, Ivanhoe?” looking at the orange-haired git.

“Oliver, now, when have I ever spouted nonsense? I just wanted to tell you, better you than me, buddy,” Ichigo retorted. “But, I gotta say, you married up. Congratulations.”

Ulquiorra’s eyes narrowed at the man. “Better me than you? Why does your boyfriend look like a whore sweating in a church? He keeps looking over here at you. He kind of looks like I do when I see Orihime.” Speaking of his wife, she was standing with some people, laughing. God she looked beautiful.

Orihime chose that moment to scan the area. When her eyes met her husband’s, her entire face softened and lit up at the same time. The sight of him looking at her with love in his eyes made her heart melt. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was. She excused herself from present company and made her way over to Ulquiorra and Ichigo.

“And what is my third least offensive guy bothering my dapper husband with now?” she teased Ichigo, putting her hands on Ulquiorra’s chest.

“Ivan wants to come be our full time pool boy,” Ulquiorra said with a smirk at their friend. “Something about how Grimmjow has been acting weird.”

“Hmm...I hadn’t noticed. I was distracted by Hailey. She’s looking, um, radiant, isn’t she?”

“Ivan? Did you knock her up?” Ulquiorra asked, looking at the pregnant blonde.

Ichigo scowled and shushed him. “It’s not… She doesn’t want to “steal your thunder”, she said, and threatened to kill me if I said anything,” Ichigo hissed.

Ulquiorra laughed as Grimmjow walked up to them. The blue-haired man still looked nervous. “But I will steal your thunder today. Eh, Ichi? Can I talk to you for a moment?”

The married couple watched as Grimmjow dragged Ichigo down by the pool. They seemed to be in a short but intense conversation. Grimmjow looked almost angry as he pointed at Ichigo and then in Hailey’s direction.

  
  
Ulquiorra’s eyebrows raised as Grimmjow pulled something from his pocket and shoved it at Ichigo. The frontman of Obscuras IV gave his wife a look but quickly turned back to the two men.

“You motherfucker!” Grimmjow yelled before tackling Ichigo. The men fell into the pool which made Ulquiorra laugh.

“Should we go tell Hailey that her men are fighting?” he asked Orihime.

“I think she knows and is wisely ignoring it,” Orihime sighed, then brought her eyes back to Ulquiorra’s. “I wonder how well they’ve talked about it… What if it’s Grimm’s baby?”

“It’s not our monkey, not our circus, but,” Ulquiorra smiled at her. “We could probably start practicing for that kind of stuff.”

Orihime raised her eyebrows at him. “What, you want to get a monkey?” She had a bit of terror behind her eyes.

He threw his head back and laughed. “I love you, Vega. Thank you for commenting five years ago on that lame ass video.” Ulquiorra picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles. “How about we get another furchild before adding another human to our mix?”

The left side of her lips rose before the right joined into a knowing smile. “I accept your proposal. We might have to adopt Ivan, though.” She stood on her toes to kiss him and then whispered in his ear, “I love you, Ulquiorra. Thanks for singing to me.”

***

Three years later, Ulquiorra groaned as he and Orihime sat in their tour bus. He looked at his wife with a scowl and then back at the television. “Why the fuck are we watching It’s Ran?” he asked. “It’s about as useless as Say Yes to the Dress.”

Orihime chuckled, picking at the crust of a sandwich. “If I recall, I said yes to my dress rather quickly. I know what I like, and I do not hesitate once that decision is made, as you well know, my dear,” she said with a wink in his direction. “Anyway, she, meaning Rangiku, sent me an email saying we should watch today, so watch we shall.”

The green-eyed musician didn’t like Rangiku. He hadn’t liked her in the past however many years they had been acquaintances. “I wish this tour would be over so I can go back to my house--Our house.”

The big eyeroll followed his flub. “I know I’ve only been on the deed for like three years, but I’ve been living there -rent free, mind you- for over five years. You’d think…” she cut herself off and sighed. “Yeah, it’s your house. Who am I kidding?”

He eyed her for a moment. “Wanna buy a new house?” Ulquiorra asked. As much as he loved the house in Malibu, it was kind of small and they had enough money to get something bigger. Besides, with four dogs and at least five other people visiting almost constantly, they needed something with more space.

“Can’t we keep our house and buy another one? I…” she grabbed a tissue. She was always in touch with her emotions, but lately it had been extreme. “I mean, we have a lot of memories there.”

Refraining from rolling his eyes, Ulquiorra stared at Orihime. She was always crying about something or getting angry over another thing lately. Things made her giddy or really sad at the drop of a hat. “I was suggesting buying a second home. Maybe in Alaska. It’s colder there. I’m kidding, but I’d like to get a bigger place. With Prinny, Donny, King, and Bruce... ” He gestured to the Malamute, Corgi, Bernese Mountain dog, and French Bulldog laying throughout the tour bus, “We need more space. I’m not talking go all out like Urahara, but maybe another thousand square feet of space… Maybe we should just build Ivan his own hut on the corner of the property.” 

“Those may be the wisest words you’ve ever spoken,” Orihime said with a far-away gaze. “Ichigo Kurosaki will, indeed, one day become our fifth dog,” she said and then laughed. They both joked around about it, but the pianist was truly one of their best friends, and they enjoyed his visits, for the most part. “However, I’m thinking a couple thousand more square feet wouldn’t hurt. Neither would some beach frontage, just sayin’.”

He was going to answer, but he heard that annoying woman’s voice. “Hey everyone! It’s Ran!”

“Ugh,” he muttered. Ulquiorra looked at Orihime and then at the TV. “Can’t you just watch this and then paraphrase how she drags my name through the dirt this month?”

Orihime chucked a bit of her bread crust at him, which Donnie happily gobbled up after it hit the floor. “No. Pay attention,” she demanded, training her eyes at the screen and biting her bottom lip.

“We have some big news out of Malibu this week, or is it out of Nevada? Or whatever. Anyway, from all accounts, Obscuras IV and Vega Highwell, a/k/a Vega IV, are currently on tour, but a little bird told me that before they left about ten days ago, Ms. Highwell was spotted shopping in Malibu at a high-end maternity boutique. Looks like it’s not bloating and carbs that are causing the singer’s wardrobe to veer more toward the blousy, layered look these days. Sources tell me she and husband, Obscuras IV, are expecting their first baby in June. Congratulations, you two! In other gossip…” The blonde woman continued her gabbing but neither occupant of the bus was paying attention anymore.

Now Ulquiorra did roll his eyes. “Not this pregnancy rumor shit again. You were at La Perla last week, weren’t you? They probably just are stirring the shit pot. You look wonderful, Vega.”

She buttoned her lip and snickered through her nose as he spoke. When he finally stopped, she smiled at him and said, “Well, you’re right, I was at La Perla last week. I was also at a couple other stores. And thank you,” she leaned back and rested a hand on her belly. “We do look wonderful, don’t we?”

Oh shit. Oh. Shit. OH SHIT. Ulquiorra’s eyes went from her face to where her hand rested. What the hell? What the fuck? His eyes went wide. “You mean…” He had to calm himself down for a moment as he peered at her face. She had that same glow that Hailey had before she gave birth to a clone of Ivanhoe. She looked like Rangiku did before she pushed one out. She was sick or hungry or crying… Shit. “You just had the biggest gossip on the internet tell me I’m gonna be a dad?”

She smiled at him and gave him a one-shouldered shrug. “Nothing but the best for you, my love.”

“Up,” he said, standing. He pulled Orihime to her feet before he scooped her up in his arms, walking to the back of the tour bus where their bedroom was. “I’m going to show you how much I love you, Veggs.”

Orihime shivered and kissed his cheek. “Don’t you want to, you know, call your parents or something? I hope they don’t watch the gossip news.” She hoped he didn’t, though.

“Agenda has been changed. Fuck and make love to you first, call dad and mom, call Nan and Isane. Call realtor… Wait… Ask mom if I can have the beach house. Sounds about fitting.”

He laid her on the bed and she looked up at him with the adoring smile she often gave him, and asked, “Are you happy?”

Ulquiorra stood there for a moment. They were opposites that attracted each other. They were Vega and Altair. Their entire friendship had ties to music. Their relationship was built on music. It was how Vega Strife and ObscurasIV met in real life. The corner of his mouth quirked up as he thought about music theory and how it pertained to them. They should be in the fucking dictionary under the terms consonance and dissonance. 

He took a deep breath. “You make me happy, Orihime. I gave my heart to you a long time ago. I don’t regret it. I wouldn’t change it. If I had to do everything over again for this moment, I would. I love you.”

THE END...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Or is it? Stay tuned for the SPIN OFF of the Consonance and Dissonance series, "B-Sides", which is focused on Shuhei Hisagi and It'sRan!'s Rangiku Matsumoto in addition to Ulquiorra and Orihime, and Ichigo, Grimmjow, and Hailey.
> 
> The authors would like to jointly thank our three personified document helpers while writing this series: BUFF BOLDFACE, Nasty Bold Bufferholz, and the Temporary Idea Receptacle.
> 
>  **EIV's Thanks**  
>  Thank you to the lovely JKR for following this plot bunny I had. Yes, this was an extra over the top rollercoaster ride but yall should expect that by now. Thank you to our readers and the people that leave kudos and send messages on Tumblr that I never answer. LOL. Thanks also to everyone on the Ulquihime Discord server also for putting up with us.
> 
> Also, fuck Brian and Steve.
> 
>  **JKR's Thanks**  
>  First I would like to say: I AM SO TIRED. I'm missing the reader interaction of uploading three chapters a week across three stories but I feel like I can breathe a bit now. I won't wait too long to be more active again (hopefully). Anyway, as usual, it's bittersweet to publish the final chapter of this series, but like the beginning note says, we'll actually be back with Obs and Veggs next week in B-Sides. They are the side dish in that one, though. Thanks to EIV for sticking this monster fic out. Her OIV was stubborn and my Vega was just as bad, and we couldn't keep them in line for the life of us. I like to imagine it was an eight-season YA television drama where the actors aged beyond the canon age of their characters, and despite knowing that the drama is almost soapy, for me, I still love it. Thanks for reading guys. I hope in the end you love Obs and Veggs as much as I do. xoxo

**Author's Note:**

> [ULQUIHIME DISCORD](https://discord.gg/JbdPDcb)  
> EspadaIV can be reached at [HERE ON TUMBLR](http://espada-iv.tumblr.com/)  
> JKRobertson can be reached at [HERE ON TUMBLR](https://jkrobertson.tumblr.com/)  
> Want fic updates? [eivjkr.com](https://eivjkr.com/)  
> 


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